I. — A HOSTAGE

"IT is a fair sight."

"It may be a fair sight in a Roman's eyes, Beric, but nought could be
fouler to those of a Briton. To me every one of those blocks of brick and
stone weighs down and helps to hold in bondage this land of ours; while that
temple they have dared to rear to their gods, in celebration of their having
conquered Britain, is an insult and a lie. We are not conquered yet, as they
will some day know to their cost. We are silent, we wait, but we do not admit
that we are conquered."

"I agree with you there. We have never fairly tried our strength against
them. These wretched divisions have always prevented our making an effort to
gather; Cassivelaunus and some of the Kentish tribes alone opposed them at
their first landing, and he was betrayed and abandoned by the tribes on the
north of the Thames. It has been the same thing ever since. We fight
piecemeal; and while the Romans hurl their whole strength against one tribe
the others look on with folded hands. Who aided the Trinobantes when the
Romans defeated them and established themselves on that hill? No one. They
will eat Britain up bit by bit."

"Then you like them no better for having lived among them, Beric?"

"I like them more, but I fear them more. One cannot be four years among
them, as I was, without seeing that in many respects we might copy them with
advantage. They are a great people. Compare their splendid mansions and their
regular orderly life, their manners and their ways, with our rough huts, and
our feasts, ending as often as not with quarrels and brawls. Look at their
arts, their power of turning stone into lifelike figures, and above all, the
way in which they can transfer their thoughts to white leaves, so that
others, many many years hence, can read them and know all that was passing,
and what men thought and did in the long bygone. Truly it is marvellous."

"You are half Romanized, Beric," his companion said roughly.

"I think not," the other said quietly; "I should be worse than a fool had
I lived, as I have done, a hostage among them for four years without seeing
that there is much to admire, much that we could imitate with advantage, in
their life and ways; but there is no reason because they are wiser and far
more polished, and in many respects a greater people than we, that they
should come here to be our masters. These things are desirable, but they are
as nothing to freedom. I have said that I like them more for being among
them. I like them more for many reasons. They are grave and courteous in
their manner to each other; they obey their own laws; every man has his
rights; and while all yield obedience to their superiors, the superiors
respect the rights of those below them. The highest among them cannot touch
the property or the life of the lowest in rank. All this seems to me
excellent; but then, on the other hand, my blood boils in my veins at the
contempt in which they hold us; at their greed, their rapacity, their
brutality, their denial to us of all rights. In their eyes we are but
savages, but wild men, who may be useful for tilling the ground for them, but
who, if troublesome, should be hunted down and slain like wild beasts. I
admire them for what they can do; I respect them for their power and
learning; but I hate them as our oppressors."

"That is better, Beric, much better. I had begun to fear that the grand
houses and the splendour of these Romans might have sapped your patriotism. I
hate them all; I hate changes; I would live as we have always lived."

"But you forget, Boduoc, that we ourselves have not been standing still.
Though our long past forefathers, when they crossed from Gaul wave after
wave, were rude warriors, we have been learning ever since from Gaul as the
Gauls have learned from the Romans, and the Romans themselves admit that we
have advanced greatly since the days when, under their Caesar, they first
landed here. Look at the town on the hill there. Though 'tis Roman now 'tis
not changed so much from what it was under that great king Cunobeline, while
his people had knowledge of many things of which we and the other tribes of
the Iceni knew nothing."

"What good did it do them?" the other asked scornfully; "they lie
prostrate under the Roman yoke. It was easy to destroy their towns while we,
who have few towns to destroy, live comparatively free. Look across at
Camalodunum, Cunobeline's capital. Where are the men who built the houses,
who dressed in soft garments, who aped the Romans, and who regarded us as
well nigh savage men? Gone every one of them; hewn down on their own
hearthstones, or thrust out with their wives and families to wander
homeless—is there one left of them in yonder town? Their houses they
were so proud of, their cultivated fields, their wealth of all kinds has been
seized by the Romans. Did they fight any better for their Roman fashions? Not
they; the kingdom of Cunobeline, from the Thames to the western sea, fell to
pieces at a touch and it was only among the wild Silures that Caractacus was
able to make any great resistance."

"But we did no better, Boduoc; Ostorius crushed us as easily as Claudius
crushed the Trinobantes. It is no use our setting ourselves against change.
All that you urge against the Trinobantes and the tribes of Kent the Silures
might urge with equal force against us. You must remember that we were like
them not so many ages back. The intercourse of the Gauls with us on this
eastern sea coast, and with the Kentish tribes, has changed us greatly. We
are no longer, like the western tribes, mere hunters living in shelters of
boughs and roaming the forests. Our dress, with our long mantles, our loose
vests and trousers, differs as widely from that of these western tribes as it
does from the Romans. We live in towns, and if our houses are rude they are
solid. We no longer depend solely on the chase, but till the ground and have
our herds of cattle. I daresay there were many of our ancestors who set
themselves as much against the Gaulish customs as you do against those of the
Romans; but we adopted them, and benefited by them, and though I would exult
in seeing the last Roman driven from our land, I should like after their
departure to see us adopt what is good and orderly and decent in their
customs and laws."

Beric's companion growled a malediction upon everything Roman.

"There is one thing certain," he said after a pause, "either they must go
altogether, not only here but everywhere—they must learn, as our
ancestors taught them at their two first invasions, that it is hopeless to
conquer Britain—or they will end by being absolute masters of the
island, and we shall be their servants and slaves."

"That is true enough," Beric agreed; "but to conquer we must be united,
and not only united but steadfast. Of course I have learned much of them
while I have been with them. I have come to speak their language, and have
listened to their talk. It is not only the Romans who are here whom we have
to defeat, it is those who will come after them. The power of Rome is great;
how great we cannot tell, but it is wonderful and almost inconceivable. They
have spread over vast countries, reducing peoples everywhere under their
dominion. I have seen what they call maps showing the world as far as they
know it, and well nigh all has been conquered by them; but the farther away
from Rome the more difficulty have they in holding what they have
conquered.

"That is our hope here; we are very far from Rome. They may send army
after army against us, but in time they will get weary of the loss and
expense when there is so little to gain, and as after their first invasions a
long time elapsed before they again troubled us, so in the end they may
abandon a useless enterprise. Even now the Romans grumble at what they call
their exile, but they are obstinate and tenacious, and to rid our land of
them for good it would be necessary for us not only to be united among
ourselves when we rise against them, but to remain so, and to oppose with our
whole force the fresh armies they will bring against us.

"You know how great the difficulties will be, Boduoc; we want one great
leader whom all the tribes will follow, just as all the Roman legions obey
one general; and what chance is there of such a man arising—a man so
great, so wise, so brave, that all the tribes of Britain will lay aside their
enmities and jealousies, and submit themselves to his absolute guidance?"

"If we wait for that, Beric, we may wait for ever," Boduoc said in a
sombre tone, "at any rate it is not while we are tranquil under the Roman
heel that such a man could show himself. If he is to come to the front it
must be in the day of battle. Then, possibly, one chief may rise so high
above his fellows that all may recognize his merits and agree to follow
him."

"That is so," Beric agreed; "but is it possible that even the greatest
hero should find support from all? Cassivelaunus was betrayed by the
Trinobantes. Who could have united the tribes more than the sons of
Cunobeline, who reigned over well nigh all Britain, and who was a great king
ruling wisely and well, and doing all in his power to raise and advance the
people; and yet, when the hour came, the kingdom broke up into pieces. Veric,
the chief of the Cantii, went to Rome and invited the invader to aid him
against his rivals at home, and not a man of the Iceni or the Brigantes
marched to the aid of Caractacus and Togodamnus. What wonder, then, that
these were defeated. Worse than all, when Caractacus was driven a fugitive to
hide among the Brigantes, did not their queen, Cartismandua, hand him over to
the Romans? Where can we hope to find a leader more fitted to unite us than
was Caractacus, the son of the king whom we all, at least, recognized and
paid tribute to; a prince who had learned wisdom from a wise father, a
warrior enterprising, bold, and indomitable—a true patriot?

"If Caractacus could not unite us, what hope is there of finding another
who would do so? Moreover, our position is far worse now than it was ten
years ago. The Belgae and Dumnonii in the southwest have been crushed after
thirty battles; the Dobuni in the centre have been defeated and garrisoned;
the Silures have set an example to us all, inflicting many defeats on the
Romans; but their power has at last been broken. The Brigantes and ourselves
have both been heavily struck, as we deserved, Boduoc, for standing aloof
from Caractacus at first. Thus the task of shaking off the Roman bonds is far
more difficult now than it was when Plautius landed here twenty years ago.
Well, it is time for me to be going on. Won't you come with me, Boduoc?"

"Not I, Beric; I never want to enter their town again save with a sword in
one hand and a torch in the other. It enrages me to see the airs of
superiority they give themselves. They scarce seem even to see us as we walk
in their streets; and as to the soldiers as they stride along with helmet and
shield, my fingers itch to meet them in the forest. No; I promised to walk so
far with you, but I go no farther. How long will you be there?"

"Two hours at most, I should say."

"The sun is halfway down, Beric; I will wait for you till it touches that
hill over there. Till then you will find me sitting by the first tree at the
spot where we left the forest."

Beric nodded and walked on towards the town. The lad, for he was not yet
sixteen, was the son of Parta, the chieftainess of one of the divisions of
the great tribe of the Iceni, who occupied the tract of country now known as
Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge, and Huntingdon. This tribe had yielded but a
nominal allegiance to Cunobeline, and had held aloof during the struggle
between Caractacus and the Romans, but when the latter had attempted to
establish forts in their country they had taken up arms. Ostorius Scapula,
the Roman proprietor, had marched against them and defeated them with great
slaughter, and they had submitted to the Roman authority. The Sarci, the
division of the tribe to which Beric belonged, had taken a leading part in
the rising, and his father had fallen in the defence of their
intrenchments.

Among the British tribes the women ranked with the men, and even when
married the wife was often the acknowledged chief of the tribe. Parta had
held an equal authority with her husband, and at his death remained sole head
of the subtribe, and in order to ensure its obedience in the future, Ostorius
had insisted that her only son Beric, at that time a boy of eleven, should be
handed over to them as a hostage.

Had Parta consulted her own wishes she would have retired with a few
followers to the swamps and fens of the country to the north rather than
surrender her son, but the Brigantes, who inhabited Lincolnshire, and who
ranged over the whole of the north of Britain as far as Northumberland, had
also received a defeat at the hands of the Romans, and might not improbably
hand her over upon their demand. She therefore resigned herself to let Beric
go.

"My son," she said, "I need not tell you not to let them Romanize you. You
have been brought up to hate them. Your father has fallen before their
weapons, half your tribe have been slain, your country lies under their feet.
I will not wrong you then by fearing for a moment that they can make a Roman
of you.

"You have been brought up to lie upon the bare ground, to suffer fatigue
and hardship, hunger and thirst, and the rich food and splendid houses and
soft raiment of the Romans should have no attraction for you. I know not how
long your imprisonment among them may last. For the present I have little
hope of another rising; but should I see a prospect of anything like unity
among our people, I will send Boduoc with a message to you to hold yourself
in readiness to escape when you receive the signal that the time has come.
Till then employ your mind in gaining what good you may by your residence
among them; there must be some advantage in their methods of warfare which
has enabled the people of one city to conquer the world.

"It is not their strength, for they are but pigmies to us. We stand a full
head above them, and even we women are stronger than Roman soldiers, and yet
they defeat us. Learn then their language, throw your whole mind into that at
first, then study their military discipline and their laws. It must be the
last as much as their discipline that has made them rulers over so vast an
empire. Find out if you can the secret of their rule, and study the training
by which their soldiers move and fight as if bound together by a cord,
forming massive walls against which we break ourselves in vain. Heed not
their arts, pay no attention to their luxuries, these did Cunobeline no good,
and did not for a day delay the destruction that fell upon his kingdom. What
we need is first a knowledge of their military tactics, so that we may drive
them from the land; secondly, a knowledge of their laws, that we may rule
ourselves wisely after they have gone. What there is good in the rest may
come in time.

"However kind they may be to you, bear always in mind that you are but a
prisoner among the oppressors of your country, and that though, for reasons
of policy, they may treat you well, yet that they mercilessly despoil and ill
treat your countrymen. Remember too, Beric, that the Britons, now that
Caractacus has been sent a prisoner to Rome, need a leader, one who is not
only brave and valiant in the fight, but who can teach the people how to
march to victory, and can order and rule them well afterwards. We are part of
one of our greatest tribes, and from among us, if anywhere, such a leader
should come.

"I have great hopes of you, Beric. I know that you are brave, for single
handed you slew with an arrow a great wolf the other day; but bravery is
common to all, I do not think that there is a coward in the tribe. I believe
you are intelligent. I consulted the old Druid in the forest last week, and
he prophesied a high destiny for you; and when the messenger brought the
Roman summons for me to deliver you up as a hostage, it seemed to me that
this was of all things the one that would fit you best for future rule. I am
not ambitious for you, Beric. It would be nought to me if you were king of
all the Britons. It is of our country that I think. We need a great leader,
and my prayer to the gods is that one may be found. If you should be the man
so much the better; but if not, let it be another. Comport yourself among
them independently, as one who will some day be chief of a British tribe, but
be not sullen or obstinate. Mix freely with them, learn their language,
gather what are the laws under which they live, see how they build those
wonderful houses of theirs, watch the soldiers at their exercises, so that
when you return among us you can train the Sarci to fight in a similar
manner. Keep the one purpose always in your mind. Exercise your muscles
daily, for among us no man can lead who is not as strong and as brave as the
best who follow him. Bear yourself so that you shall be in good favour with
all men."

Beric had, to the best of his power, carried out the instructions of his
mother. It was the object of the Romans always to win over their adversaries
if possible, and the boy had no reason to complain of his treatment. He was
placed in the charge of Caius Muro, commander of a legion, and a slave was at
once appointed to teach him Latin. He took his meals with the scribe and
steward of the household, for Caius was of noble family, of considerable
wealth, and his house was one of the finest in Camalodunum. He was a kindly
and just man, and much beloved by his troops. As soon as Beric had learned
the language, Caius ordered the scribe to teach him the elements of Roman
law, and a decurion was ordered to take him in hand and instruct him in
arms.

As Beric was alike eager to study and to exercise in arms, he gained the
approval of both his teachers. Julia, the wife of Caius, a kindly lady, took
a great fancy to the boy. "He will make a fine man, Caius," she said one day
when the boy was fourteen years old. "See how handsome and strong he is; why,
Scipio, the son of the centurion Metellus, is older by two years, and yet he
is less strong than this young Briton."

"They are a fine race, Julia, though in disposition as fierce as wild
cats, and not to be trusted. But the lad is, as you say, strong and nimble. I
marked him practising with the sword the other day against Lucinus, who is a
stout soldier, and the man had as much as he could do to hold his own against
him. I was surprised myself to see how well he wielded a sword of full
weight, and how active he was. The contest reminded me of a dog and a wild
cat, so nimble were the boy's springs, and so fierce his attacks. Lucinus
fairly lost his temper at last, and I stopped the fight, for although they
fought with blunted weapons, he might well have injured the lad badly with a
downright cut, and that would have meant trouble with the Iceni again."

"He is intelligent, too," Julia replied. "Sometimes I have him in while I
am working with the two slave girls, and he will stand for hours asking me
questions about Rome, and about our manners and customs."

"One is never sure of these tamed wolves," Caius said; "sometimes they
turn out valuable allies and assistants, at other times they grow into
formidable foes, all the more dangerous for what they have learned of us.
However, do with him as you like, Julia; a woman has a lighter hand than a
man, and you are more likely to tame him than we are. Cneius says that he is
very eager to learn, and has ever a book in his hand when not practising in
arms."

"What I like most in him," Julia said, "is that he is very fond of our
little Berenice. The child has taken to him wonderfully, and of an afternoon,
when he has finished with Cneius, she often goes out with him. Of course old
Lucia goes with them. It is funny to hear them on a wet day, when they cannot
go out, talking together—she telling him stories of Rome and of our
kings and consuls, and he telling her tales of hunting the wolf and wild
boar, and legends of his people, who seem to have been always at war with
someone."

After Beric had resided for three years and a half at Camalodunum a great
grief fell on the family of Caius Muro, for the damp airs from the valley had
long affected Julia and she gradually faded and died. Beric felt the loss
very keenly, for she had been uniformly kind to him. A year later Suetonius
and the governor of the colony decided that as the Sarci had now been quiet
for nearly five years, and as Caius reported that their young chief seemed to
have become thoroughly Romanized, he was permitted to return to his
tribe.

The present was his first visit to the colony since he had left it four
months before. His companion, Boduoc, was one of the tribesmen, a young man
six years his senior. He was related to his mother, and had been his
companion in his childish days, teaching him woodcraft, and to throw the
javelin and use the sword. Together, before Beric went as hostage, they had
wandered through the forest and hunted the wolf and wild boar, and at that
time Boduoc had stood in the relation of an elder brother to Beric. That
relation had now much changed. Although Boduoc was a powerful young man and
Beric but a sturdy stripling, the former was little better than an untutored
savage, and he looked with great respect upon Beric both as his chief and as
possessing knowledge that seemed to him to be amazing.

Hating the Romans blindly he had trembled lest he should find Beric on his
return completely Romanized. He had many times, during the lad's stay at
Camalodunum, carried messages to him there from his mother, and had
sorrowfully shaken his head on his way back through the forest as he thought
of his young chief's surroundings. Beric had partially adopted the Roman
costume, and to hear him talking and jesting in their own language to the
occupants of the mansion, whose grandeur and appointments filled Boduoc with
an almost superstitious fear, was terrible to him. However, his loyalty to
Beric prevented him from breathing a word in the tribe as to his fears, and
he was delighted to find the young chief return home in British garb, and to
discover that although his views of the Romans differed widely from his own,
he was still British at heart, and held firmly the opinion that the only hope
for the freedom of Britain was the entire expulsion of the invaders.

He was gratified to find that Beric had become by no means what he
considered effeminate. He was built strongly and massively, as might be
expected from such parents, and was of the true British type, that had so
surprised the Romans at their first coming among them, possessing great
height and muscular power, together with an activity promoted by constant
exercise.

Beric had fallen back upon the customs of his people as thoroughly as if
he had never dwelt in the stately Roman town. He was as ready as before to
undertake the longest hunting expeditions, to sleep in the forest, to go from
sunrise to sunset without breaking his fast. When not engaged in hunting he
practised incessantly hurling the javelin and other warlike exercises, while
of an evening he frequently related stories of Roman history to any chiefs or
other guests of his mother, on which occasions the humbler followers would
gather thickly in the background, evincing an interest even greater than that
which they felt in the songs and legends of the bards.

Beric generally chose stories relating to periods when Rome was hardly
pressed by her foes, showing how the intense feeling of patriotism, and the
obstinate determination to resist, in spite of all dangers, upon the part of
the population, and the discipline and dogged valour of the soldiers, saved
her from destruction. He was cautious to draw no parallel openly to the case
of Britain. He knew that the Romans were made acquainted, by traitors in
their pay, with much that passed among the native tribes, and that at first
they were sure to interest themselves in his proceedings. At present there
could be no thought of a rising, and the slightest sign of disaffection might
bring disaster and ruin upon his tribe. Only when some unexpected event, some
invasion of the rights of the Britons even more flagrant than those that had
hitherto taken place, should stir the smouldering fire of discontent, and fan
it into a fierce flame of revolt from end to end of Britain, could success be
hoped for.

No Roman could have found fault with Beric's relation of their prowess or
their valour; for he held them up to the admiration of his hearers. "No
wonder Rome is great and powerful," he said, "when its people evince so deep
a love of country, so resolute a determination in the face of their enemies,
so unconquerable a spirit when misfortune weighs upon them."

To the men he addressed all this was new. It was true that a few princes
and chiefs had visited Rome, occasionally as travellers desiring to see the
centre of her greatness, more often as exiles driven from Britain by defeat
in civil strife, but these had only brought back great tales of Rome's
magnificence, and the Britons knew nothing of the history of the invaders,
and eagerly listened to the stories that Beric had learned from their books
in the course of his studies. The report of his stories spread so far that
visits were paid to the village of Parta by chiefs and leading men from other
sections of the Iceni to listen to them.

Oratory was among the Britons, as among most primitive tribes, highly
prized and much cultivated. Oral tradition among such peoples takes the place
of books among civilized nations. Story and legend are handed down from
father to son, and the wandering bard is a most welcome guest. Next only to
valour oratory sways and influences the minds of the people, and a Ulysses
had greater influence than an Ajax. From his earliest childhood Beric had
listened to the stories and legends told by bards in the rough palace of his
father, and his sole schooling before he went to Camalodunum had been to
learn these by heart, and to repeat them with due emphasis and appropriate
gesture. His father had been one of the most eloquent and influential of the
chiefs of the Iceni, and had early impressed upon him the importance of
cultivating the power of speech.

His studies in Roman history, too, had taught him the power exercised by
men with the gift of moving multitudes by their words; he had learned from
books how clearly and distinctly events could be described by a careful
choice of words, and attention to form and expression, so that almost
unconsciously to himself he had practised the art in his relations of the
tales and legends of British history to Berenice and her mother. Thus, then,
the manner no less than the matter of his recitals of Roman story, gained him
a high estimation among his hearers, and he was already looked upon as a
young chief likely to rise to a very high position among the Iceni. Among the
common herd his glowing laudations of Roman patriotism, devotion, and
sacrifice, caused him to be regarded with disfavour, and the epithet "the
Roman" was frequently applied to him. But the wiser spirits saw the hidden
meaning of his stories, and that, while holding up the Romans as an example,
he was endeavouring to teach how much can be done by patriotism, by a spirit
of self sacrifice, and by unity against a common foe. Parta was also proud of
the congratulations that distinguished chiefs, famed for their wisdom
throughout the tribe, offered to her on the occasion of their visits.

"Beric will be a great chief," one of the wisest of these said to her;
"truly his sojourn among the Romans has done great things for him. It would
be well, indeed, if every noble youth throughout the island were to have such
schooling, if he had your son's wit in taking advantage of it. He will be a
great orator; never among our bards have I heard narrations so clear and so
well delivered; although the deeds he praises are those of our oppressors,
one cannot but feel a thrill of enthusiasm as he tells them. Yea, for the
moment I myself felt half a Roman when he told us of the brave youth who
thrust his hand into the flames, and suffered it to be consumed in order to
impress the invader with a knowledge of the spirit that animated the Romans,
and of the three men who held against a host the bridge that their friends
were breaking down behind them.

"If he could stir me thus by his tales of the deeds of our enemies, what
will it be when some day he makes the heroes of Britain his theme, and calls
upon his countrymen to imitate their deeds! I have heard him called 'the
Roman,' Parta. Now that I have listened to him I know that he will, when the
time comes, be one of Rome's most formidable foes. I will tell you now that
Prasutagus, our king, and his queen Boadicea, spoke to me about Beric, and
begged me to come hither to see for myself this youth of whom they had heard
reports from others, some saying that he had returned a Roman heart and soul,
while others affirmed that, while he had learned much from them, he had
forgotten nothing of the injuries he had received at their hands in the death
of his father, and the disaster of the tribe. I shall know now what to tell
them. To Prasutagus, whose fear of the Romans is even greater than his hatred
for them, I shall say that the lad is full of the glories of Roman story, and
that there is no fear of his doing or saying aught that will excite the anger
or suspicion of the Romans. To Boadicea, who hates the Romans far more than
she fears them, I shall tell the truth, and shall inform her that when the
time comes, as assuredly it some day will, that the Iceni are called upon to
defend their liberties against Rome, in Beric she will find a champion of
whom I predict that he will be worthy to take his place in our history by the
side of Caractacus and Cassivelaunus. May our gods avert that, like them, he
fall a victim to British treachery!"

After leaving Boduoc, Beric crossed the bridge built by the Romans over
the Stour, and entered the city. Camalodunum was the chief seat of the Roman
power in England. Although but so short a time had elapsed since Claudius had
occupied it, it was already a large city. A comparatively small proportion,
however, was Roman work, but all bore the impress of Roman art and
civilization, for Cunobeline, whose capital it had been, was a highly
enlightened king, and had introduced Roman ways and methods among his people.
Men instructed in their arts and architecture had been largely employed in
the building of the town, and its edifices would have borne comparison with
those in minor towns in the Roman provinces.

The conquerors, therefore, found much of their work done for them. The
original possessors of the houses and of the highly cultivated lands lying
round the town were ejected wholesale, and the Romans, establishing
themselves in their abodes and farms, then proceeded to add to, embellish,
and fortify the town. The 2nd, 9th, and 14th Legions were selected by
Claudius to found what was called the colony, and to take possession of the
surrounding country. Plautius was appointed propraetor, or governor, and
establishing himself in the royal palace of Cunobeline, his first step was to
protect the city from renewed attacks by the Britons. He accordingly erected
vast works to the westward of the town, extending from the sea to the river,
by which means he not only protected the city from attack, but gained, in
case of an assault by overpowering numbers, the means of retiring safely to
Mersea Island, lying a short distance from the shore.

A council house and a tribunal were erected for the Roman magistrates;
temples, a theatre, and baths raised. The civilian population increased
rapidly. Architects, artists, and musicians, decorators, skilled artisans,
and traders were attracted from the mainland to the rising city, which
rapidly increased in wealth and importance. Conspicuous on the most elevated
position stood a temple erected to the honour of Claudius, who was raised by
the grateful legionaries to divine rank. So strong and populous was the city
that the Trinobantes, during the years that had elapsed since the Romans took
possession of it, remained passive under the yoke of their oppressors, and
watched, without attempting to take part in them, the rising of the Iceni and
Brigantes, the long and desperate war of the Silures and Ordovices under
Caractacus, and the reduction of the Belgae and Dumnonii from Hampshire to
Cornwall by Vespasian. Yet, had their spirit remained unbroken, there was an
opportunity for revenge, for a large part of the veteran legionaries had been
withdrawn to take part in the struggle against the western tribes. The tribe
had, however, been disarmed, and with Camalodunum on the north, and the
rising towns of London and Verulamium on the south, they were cut off from
other tribes, and could not hope for final success, unless the powerful
Iceni, who were still semi-independent, rose in the national cause. Whether
their easy defeat of this tribe soon after the occupation of Camalodunum had
rendered the Romans contemptuous of their fighting powers, or that they
deemed it wiser to subdue the southwest and west of England, and to strike a
heavy blow at the Brigantes to the north before interfering with a powerful
tribe so close to their doors, is uncertain; but doubtless they felt that so
long as Prasutagus reigned there was little fear of trouble in that quarter,
as that king protested himself the friend and ally of Rome, and occupied
himself wholly in acquiring wealth and adding to his personal
possessions.

The scene in Camalodunum was a familiar one to Beric. The streets were
thronged with people. Traders from Gaul and Italy, Roman artisans and
workmen, haughty legionaries with shield and helmet, civil officials, Greek
players, artists and decorators, native tribesmen, with the products of their
fields or the spoils of the chase, walking with humble mien; and shopkeepers
sitting at the open fronts of their houses, while their slaves called the
attention of passersby to the merits of the goods. Here were the rich
products of Eastern looms, there the cloths and linen of Rome, further on a
smith's shop in full work, beyond that a silversmith's, next door to which
was a thriving trader who sold unguents and perfumes, dyes for the ladies'
cheeks and pigments for their eyebrows, dainty requisites for the toilette,
and perfumed soap. Bakers and butchers, vendors of fish and game, of fruit,
of Eastern spices and flavourings abounded.

Druggists and dealers in dyes for clothing and in the pigments used in
wall decorations and paintings were also to be found; and, in fact, this
Roman capital of a scarcely subjugated country contained all the appliances
for luxury and comfort that could be found in the cities of the civilized
provinces.

The only shops at which Beric paused were those of the armourers and of
the scribes, at some of which were exhibited vellums with the writings of the
Greek and Roman poets and historians; and Beric muttered to himself, "If I am
ever present at the sack of Camalodunum these shall be my share of the spoil,
and I fancy that no one is likely to dispute their possession with me."

But he did not linger long. Boduoc would be waiting for him, and he could
not hurry over his visit, the first he had paid since his absence; therefore
he pushed on, with scarce a glance at the stately temple of Claudius, the
magnificent baths or other public buildings, until he arrived at the villa of
Caius Muro, which stood somewhat beyond the more crowded part of the
town.

II. — CITY AND FOREST

THE house of Caius Muro had been built six years before on
the model of
one owned by him in the Tuscan hills. Passing through the hall or vestibule,
with its mosaic pavement, on which was the word of welcome, "Salve!" Beric
entered the atrium, the principal apartment in the house. From each side, at
a height of some twenty feet from the ground, extended a roof, the fall being
slightly to the centre, where there was an aperture of about eight feet
square. Through this light and air made their way down to the apartment, the
rainfall from the roofs and opening falling into a marble tank, called the
impluvium, below the level of the floor, which was paved with squares of
coloured marble. On either side of the atrium were the small sleeping
chambers, the bed places being raised and covered with thick mats and
rugs.

The walls of the bed chambers as well as of the atrium were painted in
black, with figures and landscapes in colour. On the centre of the side
facing the vestibule was the tablinum, the apartment of Caius Muro himself.
This formed his sitting room and study. The floor was raised about a foot
above that of the atrium, and it was partly open both on that side and on the
other, looking into the peristylium, so that, while at work, he commanded a
view of all that was going on in the atrium and in the courtyard. In the
centre of this was a fountain surrounded by plants. From the courtyard opened
the triclinium, or dining room, and also rooms used as storerooms, kitchen,
and the sleeping places of the slaves.

At the back of the peristylium was the oecus, or state apartment, where
Caius received distinguished guests, and where, in the lifetime of Julia,
entertainments were given to the ladies of the colony. Like the triclinium,
this room was also partially open at both ends, affording the guests a view
of the graceful fountain on the one side and of the garden on the other. In
winter wooden frames, with heavy hangings, were erected across these openings
and that of the tablinum, for the Romans soon found the necessity for
modifying the arrangements which, although well suited for an Italian
climate, were wholly unfit for that of Britain. The opening in the centre of
the atrium was then closed with an awning of oiled canvas, which admitted a
certain amount of light to pass, but prevented the passage of rain and snow,
and kept out much of the cold. There was a narrow passage between the atrium
and the peristylium; this was called the fauces. Above the chambers round the
atrium was a second story, approached by a staircase from the peristylium;
here were the apartments of the ladies and of the female slaves.

As Beric entered the atrium, a man, who was reading a roll of parchment,
rose to his feet.

"Welcome, Beric!" he said warmly.

"All hail, preceptor!" the lad replied. "Are all well here?"

"All well, Beric. We had looked to see you before, and Berenice has been
constantly asking me when you were coming."

"I had been absent over four years, you see," Beric replied, "and it was
not easy to get away from home again. Now I must speak to Caius." He crossed
the apartment, and stood at the entrance to the tablinum. Caius looked up
from a military treatise he was perusing.

"Ah, Beric! it is you! I am glad to see you again, though I am sorry to
observe that you have abandoned our fashions and taken to the native garb
again."

"It was necessary, Caius," Beric said. "I should have lost all influence
with the tribe had I not laid aside my Roman dress. As it is, they regard me
with some doubt, as one too enamoured of Roman customs."

"We have heard of you, Beric, and, indeed, report says that you speak well
of us, and are already famous for your relations of our history."

"I thought it well that my countrymen should know your great deeds," Beric
said, "and should see by what means you have come to rule the world. I
received nought but kindness at your hands, and no prisoner's lot was ever
made more easy than mine. To you and yours I am deeply grateful. If your
people all behaved as kindly towards the natives of this country as you did
to me, Britain would be conquered without need of drawing sword from
scabbard."

"I know not that, Beric; to rule, one should be strong as well as kind.
Still, as you know, I think that things might have been arranged far less
harshly than they have been. It was needful that we should show ourselves to
be masters; but I regret the harshness that has been too often used, and I
would that not one of us here, from the governor down to the poorest soldier,
was influenced by a desire for gain, but that each was animated, as he
assuredly should be, only by a desire to uphold the glory and power of Rome.
But that would be expecting too much from human nature, and even among you
there are plenty ready to side against their countrymen for the sake of Roman
gold. In that they have less excuse than we. Custom and habit have made our
wants many, and all aim at attaining the luxuries of the rich. On the other
hand, your wants are few, and I see not that the piling up of wealth adds in
any way to your happiness."

"That is true, Caius. I quite agree with you that it is far more excusable
for a Roman to covet wealth than for a Briton; and while I blame many
officials and soldiers for the harshness with which they strive to wring all
their possessions from my countrymen, I deem their conduct as worthy and
honourable when compared with that of Britons who sell their country for your
gold."

"We must take the world as we find it, Beric. We may regret that greed and
the love of luxury should influence men, as we may grieve that they are
victims of other base passions; but it is of no use quarrelling with human
nature. Certain it is that all vices bring their own punishment, and that the
Romans were a far nobler race when they were poor and simple, in the days of
the early consuls, than they are now, with all their power, their riches, and
their luxuries. Such is the history of all peoples—of Egypt, of Persia,
of Greece, and Carthage; and methinks that Rome, too, will run the course of
other nations, and that some day, far distant maybe, she will sink beneath
the weight of her power and her luxury, and that some younger and more
vigorous people will, bit by bit, wrest her dominions from her and rule in
her place.

"As yet, happily, I see no signs of failing in her powers. She is still
vigorous, and even in the distant outskirts of the empire the wave of
conquest flows onward. Happily for us, I think, it can flow no farther this
way; there is but one island beyond this to conquer, and then, as in Western
Gaul and Iberia, the ocean says to Rome, 'Thou shalt go no farther.' Would
that to the south, the east, and north a similar barrier checked our
progress, then we could rest and be content, and need no longer waste our
strength in fresh conquests, or in opposing the incursions of hordes of
barbarians from regions unknown to us even by report. I could wish myself,
Beric, that nature had placed your island five days' sail from the coasts of
Gaul, instead of placing it within sight. Then I might have been enjoying
life in my villa among the Tuscan hills with my daughter, instead of being
exposed at any moment to march with the Legion against the savage
mountaineers of the west. Ah! here comes Berenice," he broke off, as his
daughter, attended by her old nurse, entered the atrium from the vestibule.
She hastened her steps as she saw Beric standing before her father in the
tablinum.

"I knew you would come back, Beric, because you promised me; but you have
been a long time in keeping your word."

"I am not my own master at home, any more than I was here, Berenice," he
said, "and my mother would not hear before of my leaving her. I have only
come now for an hour's visit, to see that all goes well in this house, and to
tell you that I had not forgotten my promise; the next time I hope to pay a
longer visit. At daybreak tomorrow we have a party to hunt the wolves, which
have so multiplied as to become a danger in the forests of late."

"I should like to go out to see a wolf hunt, Beric."

"I fear that would not be possible," he said; "the woods are thick and
tangled, and we have to force our way through to get to their lair."

"But last winter they came close to the town, and I heard that some came
even into the streets."

"Yes, they will do so when driven by hunger; but they were hunting then
and not being hunted. No, Berenice, I fear that your wish to see a wolf hunt
cannot be gratified; they are savage beasts, and are great trouble and no
loss to us. In winter they carry off many children, and sometimes devour
grown up people, and in times of long snow have been known to attack large
parties, and, in spite of a stout resistance by the men, to devour them. In
summer they are only met singly, but in winter they go in packs and kill
numbers of our cattle."

"I should like to go into the woods," the girl said earnestly, "I am tired
of this town. My father says he will take me with him some day when he goes
west, but so far I have seen nothing except this town and Verulamium, and the
country was all just as it is here, fields and cultivation. We could see the
forests in the distance, but that was all. My father says, that if we went
west, we should travel for miles through the forest and should sleep in
tents, but that we cannot do it till everything is quiet and peaceful. Oh,
Beric! I do wish the Britons would not be always fighting."

Beric smiled. "The British girls, Berenice, say they wish the Romans would
not be always fighting."

"It is very troublesome," she said pettishly. "I should like everyone to
be friends, and then there would be no need to have so many soldiers in
Britain, and perhaps the emperor would order our legions home. Father says
that we ought to look upon this as home now, for that the legion may remain
here for years and years; but he said the other day that he thought that if
everything was quiet here he should, when I am sixteen years old, obtain
leave from the governor, and go back to Rome for two or three years, and I
think, though he has not said so outright, that he will perhaps retire and
settle there."

"It would be much the best for you," Beric said earnestly. "I should be
sorry, because you have been very kind to me, and I should grieve were you to
leave me altogether; but there may be trouble here again some day, and I
think it would be far better for you to be back in Rome, where you would have
all the pleasures and delights of the great capital, and live in ease and
comfort, without the risk of your father having to march away to the wars. I
know that if I were your father I would take you back. He says that his villa
there is exactly like this, and you have many relations there, and there must
be all sorts of pleasures and grand spectacles far beyond anything there is
here. I am sure it would be better for you, and happier."

"I thought that you would be quite sorry," she said gravely.

"So I shall be very sorry for myself," Beric said; "as, next to my own
mother, there is no one I care for so much as you and your father. I shall
miss you terribly; but yet I am so sure that it would be best for you to be
at home with your own people, that I should be glad to hear that your father
was going to take you back to Rome."

But Berenice did not altogether accept the explanation. She felt really
hurt that Beric should view even the possibility of her going away with
equanimity, and she very shortly went off to her own apartment; while a few
minutes later, Beric, after bidding goodbye to Caius, started to rejoin
Boduoc, whom he found waiting at the edge of the forest.

That evening Berenice said to her father, "I was angry with Beric today,
father."

"Were you, child? what about?"

"I told him that perhaps in another three years, when I was sixteen, you
would take me to Rome, and that I thought, perhaps, if we went there you
would not come back again; and instead of being very much grieved, as I
thought he would, he seemed quite pleased at the idea. Of course he said he
was sorry, but he did not really seem to be, and he says he thought it would
be very much better for me. I thought he was grateful, father, and liked us
very much, and now I am quite disappointed in him."

Caius was silent for a minute or two.

"I do not think Beric is ungrateful," he said, "and I am sure that he
likes us, Berenice."

"He said he did, father, that he cared for us more than anyone except his
mother; but if he cared for us, surely he would be very, very sorry for us to
go away."

"Beric is a Briton, my dear, and we are Romans. By this time he must have
thoroughly learned his people's feelings towards us. I have never believed,
as some do, that Britain is as yet completely conquered, and that when we
have finished with the Silures in the west our work will be completely
done.

"Beric, who knows his countrymen, may feel this even more strongly than I
do, and may know that, sooner or later, there will be another great effort on
the part of the Britons to drive us out. It may be a year, and it may be
twenty, but I believe myself that some day we shall have a fierce struggle to
maintain our hold here, and Beric, who may see this also, and who knows the
feeling of his countrymen, may wish that we should be away before the storm
comes.

"There is but little doubt, Berenice, that we despise these people too
much, still less that we treat them harshly and cruelly. Were I propraetor of
Britain, I would rule them differently. I am but the commander of a legion,
and my duty is but to rule my men. I would punish, and punish sternly, all
attempts at rising; but I would give them no causes for discontent. We treat
them as if their spirit were altogether broken, as if they and their
possessions were but our chattels, as if they possessed no rights, not even
the right to live. Some day we shall find our mistake, and when the time
comes the awakening will be a rude one. It is partly because I see dimly the
storm gathering in the distance that I long to be home again. As long as your
mother lived this seemed a home to me, now I desire rest and quiet. I have
done my share of fighting, I have won honour enough, and I may look before
long to be a general; but I have had enough of it, and long for my quiet
villa in the Alban hills, with an occasional visit to Rome, where you can
take part in its gaieties, and I can have the use of the libraries stored
with the learning of the world. So do not think harshly of Beric, my child;
he may see the distant storm more plainly than I do. I am sure that he cares
for us, and if he is glad at the news that we are going, it is because he
wishes us away and in safety before the trouble comes.

"Nero has come to the imperial throne, and the men he is sending hither
are of a widely different stamp from the lieutenants of Claudius. The latter
knew that the Britons can fight, and that, wild and untutored as they are, it
needed all the skill and courage of Ostorius and Vespasian to reduce them to
order. The newcomers regard them as slaves to be trampled upon, robbed, and
ill used as they choose. I am sure they will find their mistake. As long as
they deal only with the tribes thoroughly subdued, the Trinobantes, the
Cantii, the Be1gae, and the Dumnonii, all may be quiet; they dare not move.
But the Iceni and Brigantes, although they both have felt the weight of our
swords, are still partly independent, and if pressed too severely will
assuredly revolt, and if they give the signal all Britain may be up in arms
again. I am scoffed at if I venture to hint to these newcomers that there is
life yet in Britain. Dwelling here in a Roman city, it seems to them absurd
that there can be danger from the savages who roam in the forests that
stretch away from beyond the river at our very feet to the far distant north,
to regions of which we are absolutely ignorant. I regard what Beric has said
as another warning."

"But I thought that Beric was our friend, father, and you told me you had
heard that he was teaching his countrymen how great is our history."

"Beric is a Briton in the midst of Britons, child. He is a partially tamed
wolf cub, and had he been sent to Rome and remained there he would have done
credit to our teaching. He is fond of study, and at the same time fond of
arms; he might have turned out a wise citizen or a valiant soldier. But this
was not done. He has gone back again among the wolves, and whatever his
feelings towards us personally may be, he must side with his own people. Did
they suspect him of being Roman at heart they would tear him in pieces. I
believe that as he knows our strength, and that in the end we must conquer,
his influence will always be on the side of peace; but if arms are taken up
he will have no choice but to side with his countrymen, and should it be
another ten years before the cloud bursts, he may be one of our most
formidable opponents. Don't blame him, child; he only shows his regard for
you, by wishing you back safely in Rome before trouble arises."

"You are just in time, Beric," Boduoc said as the young chief joined him.
"The sun is but a hand's breadth above that hill. Here are your spear and
sword where you hid them, though why you should have done it I know not,
seeing that they have not yet ventured to order us to disarm."

"And if they did we should not obey them, Boduoc; but as the Trinobantes
have long been forbidden to carry arms, it might have caused trouble had I
gone armed into the town, and we don't want trouble at present. I went on a
peaceful visit, and there was no occasion for me to carry my weapons. But
give me a piece of that deer flesh and an oaten cake; we have a long march
before us."

"Why, did you not eat with them?"

"No. I was, of course, invited, but I had but a short time to stop and did
not wish it to seem as if I had come for a taste of Roman dainties
again."

As soon as the meal was eaten they set out. It was but a track through the
forest, for although the trees had been cleared away for a width of twenty
feet there was but little traffic, for the road was seldom traversed, save by
an occasional messenger from Prasutagus. It had been used by the legions at
the time that Ostorius had built a line of forts stretching from the Nen to
the Severn, and by it they had advanced when the Iceni had risen; but from
that time it had been unused by them, as the Iceni had paid their tribute
regularly, and held aloof from all hostile movements against them. Prasutagus
was always profuse in his assurance of friendship towards Rome, and save that
the Roman officers visited his capital once a year to receive their tribute,
they troubled but little about the Iceni, having their hands occupied by
their wars in the south and west, while their main road to the north ran far
to the west of Camalodunum.

"We shall arrive about midnight," Beric said as they strode along.

"We may or we may not," Boduoc said curtly.

"What is to prevent us, Boduoc?"

"Well, the wolves may prevent us, Beric; we heard them howling several
times as we came along this morning. The rapacious brutes have not been so
bold for years, and it is high time that we hunted them down, or at any rate
made our part of the country too hot to hold them. I told Borgon before I
started that if we did not return by an hour after midnight it would be
because we had been obliged to take to a tree, and that he had better bring
out a party at the first break of day to rescue us."

"But we have never had any trouble of that kind while we have been
hunting, Boduoc."

"No; but I think there must have been some great hunts up in Norfolk, and
that the brutes have come south. Certain it is that there have in the last
week been great complaints of them, and, as you know, it was for that reason
that your mother ordered all the men of the tribe to assemble by tomorrow
morning to make war against them. The people in the farms and villages are
afraid to stay out after nightfall. No man with arms in his hands fears a
wolf, or even two or three of them, in the daytime; but when they are in
packs they are formidable assailants, even to a strong party. Things are
getting as bad now as they were twenty years ago. My father has told me that
during one hard winter they destroyed full half our herds, and that hundreds
of people were devoured by them. They had to erect stockades round the
villages and drive in all the cattle, and half the men kept guard by turns,
keeping great fires alight to frighten them away. When we have cleared the
land of those two legged wolves the Romans, we shall have to make a general
war upon them, for truly they are becoming a perfect scourge to the land. It
is not like the wild boar, of which there might with advantage be more, for
they do but little harm, getting their food for the most part in the woods,
and furnishing us with good eating as well as good sport. But the wolves give
us nothing in return, and save for the sport no one would trouble to hunt
them; and it is only by a general order for their destruction, or by the
offer of a reward for their heads, that we shall get rid of them."

"Well, let us press on, Boduoc. I would not that anything should occur to
prevent us starting with the rest in the morning."

"We are walking a good pace now," Boduoc said, "and shall gain but little
by going faster. One cannot run for six hours; and besides it is as much as
we can do to walk fast in the dark. Did we try to run we should like enough
fall over a stump or root, and maybe not arrive there even though the wolves
stopped us not."

For two hours more they strode along. Boduoc's eyes had been trained by
many a long night spent among the woods, and dark as it was beneath the
overarching trees, he was able to discern objects around him, and kept along
in his regular stride as surely and almost as noiselessly as a wild beast;
but the four years spent in the Roman town had impaired Beric's nocturnal
vision; and though he had done much hunting since his return home, he was far
from being able to use his eyes as his companion did, and he more than once
stumbled over the roots that crossed the path.

"You will be on your head presently," Boduoc growled.

"It is all very well for you, Boduoc, who have the eyes of a cat; but you
must remember we are travelling in the dark, and although I can make out the
trunks on either hand the ground is all black to me, and I am walking quite
at hazard."

"It is not what I should call a light night," Boduoc admitted.

"Well, no, considering that there is no moon, and that the clouds that
were rising when the sun went down have overspread all the sky. I don't see
that it could well be darker."

"Well we will stop at that hut in the little clearing, somewhere about
half a mile on, and get a couple of torches. If you were to fall and twist
your foot you would not be able to hunt tomorrow."

"What is that?" Beric exclaimed as a distant cry came to their ears.

"I think it is the voice of a woman," Boduoc said. "Or maybe it is one of
the spirits of evil."

Beric during his stay among the Romans had lost faith in most of his
superstitions. "Nonsense, Boduoc! it was the cry of a woman; it came from
ahead. Maybe some woman returning late has been attacked by wolves. Come
along," he shouted, and he started to run, followed reluctantly by his
companion.

"Stop, Beric, stop!" he said in a short time, "I hear other sounds."

"So do I," Beric agreed, but without checking his pace. "My eyes may be
dull, Boduoc, but they are not so dull as your ears. Why, don't you know the
snarling of wolves when you hear them?"

Again the loud cry of distress came on the night air. "They have not
seized her yet," Beric said. "Her first cry would have been her last had they
done so. She must be in that hut, Boduoc, and they are trying to get at her.
Maybe her husband is away."

"It is wolves," Boduoc agreed in a tone of relief. "Since that is all I am
ready for them; but sword and spear are of no avail against the spirits of
the air. We must be careful though, or instead of us attacking we may be
attacked."

Beric paid no attention. They had as they passed the hut that morning
stopped for a drink of water there, and he saw now before his eyes the tall
comely young woman with a baby in her arms and two children hanging to her
skirts. In a short time they stood at the edge of the little clearing by the
side of the path. It was lighter here, and he could make out the outline of
the rude hut, and, as he thought, that of many dark figures moving round it.
A fierce growling and snarling rose from around the hut, with once or twice a
sharp yell of pain.

"There are half a dozen of them on the roof," Boduoc said, "and a score or
more round the hut. At present they haven't winded us, for the air is in our
faces."

"I think we had best make a rush at them, Boduoc, shouting at the top of
our voices as we go, and bidding the woman stand in readiness to unbar the
door. They will be scared for a moment, not knowing how many of us there may
be, and once inside we shall be safe from them."

"Let us get as near as we can before we begin to shout, Beric. They may
run back a few paces at our voice, but will speedily rally."

Holding their spears in readiness for action they ran forward. When within
thirty yards of the hut Boduoc raised his voice in a wild yell, Beric adding
his cry and then shouting, "Unbar your door and stand to close it as we
enter."

There was, however, no occasion for haste. Boduoc' s sudden yell
completely scared the wolves, and with whimpers of dismay they scattered in
all directions. The door opened as Beric and his companion came up, and they
rushed in and closed it after them. A fire burned on the hearth. A dead wolf
lay on the ground, the children crouched in terror on a pile of rushes, and a
woman stood with a spear in her hand.

"Thanks to our country's gods you have come!" she said. "A few minutes
later and all would have been over with me and my children. See, one has
already made his way through the roof, and in half a dozen places they have
scratched holes well nigh large enough to pass through."

"It was for you that I called," the woman said. "By what you said this
morning I judged you would be returning about this hour, and it was in hopes
you might hear me that I cried out, for I knew well that no one else would be
likely to be within earshot."

"Where is your husband?" Beric asked.

"He started this afternoon for Cardun. He and all the able bodied men were
ordered to assemble there tonight in readiness to begin the war against the
wolves at daybreak. There is no other house within a mile, and even had they
heard me there they could have given me no assistance, seeing there are but
women and children remaining behind."

"They are coming again," Boduoc broke in; "I can hear their feet pattering
on the dead leaves. Which shall we do, Beric, pile more wood on the fire, or
let it go out altogether? I think that we shall do better without it; it is
from the roof that they will attack, and if we have a light here we cannot
see them till they are ready to leap down; whereas, if we are in darkness we
may be able to make them out when they approach the holes, or as they pass
over any of the crevices."

"I don't know, Boduoc; I think we shall do better if we have light. We may
not make them out so well, but at least we can use our spears better than we
could in the dark, when we might strike them against the rafters or thick
branches."

The woman at once gathered some of the pieces of wood that had fallen
through as the wolves made the holes and put them on the hearth, where they
soon blazed up brightly.

"I will take this big hole," Boduoc said, "it is the only one by which
they can come down at present. Do you try and prevent them from enlarging any
of the others."

There was a sudden thump overhead, followed almost immediately by several
others.

"They get up by the wood pile," the woman said. "It is against that side
of the hut, and reaches nearly up to the eaves."

There was a sharp yell as Boduoc thrust his spear up through the hole when
he saw a pair of eyes, shining in the firelight, appear at the edge. At the
same moment there was a sound of scraping and scratching at some of the other
holes. The roof was constructed of rough poles laid at short distances apart,
and above these were small branches, on which was a sort of thatch of reeds
and rushes. Standing close under one of the holes Beric could see nothing,
but from the sound of the scratching he could tell from which side the wolf
was at work enlarging it. He carefully thrust the point of his spear through
the branches and gave a sudden lunge upwards. A fierce yell was heard,
followed by the sound of a body rolling down the roof, and then a struggle
accompanied by angry snarling and growling outside.

"That is one less, Beric," Boduoc said. "I fancy I only scratched mine.
Ah!" he exclaimed suddenly, as without the least warning a wolf sprang down
through the hole. Before it could gather its legs under it for a fresh spring
Beric and the woman both thrust their spears deeply into it, Boduoc keeping
his eyes fixed on the hole, and making a lunge as another wolf peered down in
readiness to spring after the one that had entered.

For hours the fight went on. Gradually the holes, in spite of the efforts
of the defenders, were enlarged, and the position became more and more
critical. At least twenty of the wolves were slain; but as the attack was
kept up as vigorously as at first, it was evident that fresh reinforcements
had arrived to the assailants.

"We cannot keep them out much longer, Beric," Boduoc said at last. "It
seems to me that our only plan is to fire the hut, and then, each taking a
child, to make a rush across to the trees and climb them. The sudden burst of
fire will drive them back for a little, and we may make good our retreat to
the trees."

"What time is it, think you, Boduoc?"

"It must be two or three hours past midnight, and if Borgon carried out my
instructions help ought to be near at hand. I would that we could let them
know of our peril."

"There is a cow horn," the woman said, pointing to the corner of the hut.
"My husband uses it for calling in the cattle."

Boduoc seized the horn and blew a deep hollow blast upon it. There was a
sudden pattering of feet overhead and then silence.

"That has scared them," Beric said. "Blow again, Boduoc; if we can but
gain half an hour our friends may be up."

Again and again the hoarse roar of the cow horn rose, but the wolves
speedily recovered from their scare and crowded on the roof.

"We can't hold out much longer," Beric said, as two wolves that leapt down
together had just been despatched. "Get a brand from the fire." At this
moment there was a sudden scuffle overhead, and the three defenders stood,
spear in hand, ready to repel a fresh attack; but all was quiet; then a loud
shout rose on the air.

"Thank the gods, here they are!" Boduoc said. He listened a moment, but
all was still round the hut; then he threw the door open as a score of men
with lighted torches came running towards it, and raised a shout of
satisfaction as the light fell upon Beric.

"Thanks for your aid, my friends!" he said as they crowded round him;
"never was a shout more welcome than yours. You were just in time, as you may
see by looking at the roof. We were about to fire it and make for the trees,
though I doubt if one of us would have reached them."

As the men entered the hut and looked at the ragged holes in the roof and
the bodies of nine wolves stretched on the ground, they saw that they had,
indeed, arrived only just in time. Among the rescuing party was the man to
whom the hut belonged, whose joy at finding his wife and children unhurt was
great indeed; and he poured forth his thanks to Beric and Boduoc when he
learned from his wife that they had voluntarily abandoned the wood, where
they could have been secure in the shelter of a tree, in order to assist her
in defending the hut against the wolves.

"You must all come with us," Beric said; "the wolves may return after we
have gone. When our hunt is over I will send some men to help you to repair
your roof. Where are the cattle?"

"They are safe in a stockade at the next village," the man said. "We
finished it only yesterday, and drove in all the cattle from the forests, and
collected great quantities of wood so that the women might keep up great
bonfires if the wolves tried to break in."

A few minutes later the party started on their return. As they walked they
could sometimes hear the pattering of footsteps on the falling leaves, but
the torches deterred the animals from making an attack, and after three
hours' walking they arrived at Cardun. The village stood on a knoll rising
from swamps, through which a branch of the Stour wound its way sluggishly.
Round the crest of the knoll ran two steep earthen banks, one rising behind
the other, and in the inclosed space, some eight acres in extent, stood the
village. The contrast between it and the Roman city but two-and-twenty miles
away was striking. No great advance had been made upon the homes that the
people had occupied in Gaul before their emigration. In the centre stood
Parta's abode, distinguished from the rest only by its superior size. The
walls were of mud and stone, the roof high, so as to let the water run more
easily off the rough thatching. It contained but one central hall surrounded
by half a dozen small apartments.

The huts of the people consisted but of a single room, with a hole in the
roof by which the smoke of the fire in the centre made its way out. The
doorway was generally closed by a wattle secured by a bar. When this was
closed light only found its way into the room through the chinks of the
wattle and the hole in the roof. In winter, for extra warmth, a skin was hung
before the door. Beyond piles of hides, which served as seats by day and beds
at night, there was no furniture whatever in the rooms, save a few earthen
cooking pots.

Parta's abode, however, was more sumptuously furnished. Across one end ran
a sort of dais of beaten earth, raised a foot above the rest of the floor.
This was thickly strewn with fresh rushes, and there was a rough table and
benches. The walls of the apartment were hidden by skins, principally those
of wolves.

The fireplace was in the centre of the lower part of the hall, and
arranged on a shelf against the wall were cooking pots of iron and brass;
while on a similar shelf on the wall above the dais were jugs and drinking
vessels of gold. Hams of wild boar and swine hung from the rafters, where too
were suspended wild duck and fish, and other articles of food. Parta's own
apartment led from the back of the dais. That of Beric was next to it, its
separate use having been granted to him on his return from Camalodunum, not
without some scoffing remarks upon his effeminacy in requiring a separate
apartment, instead of sleeping as usual on the dais; while the followers and
attendants stretched themselves on the floor of the hall.

III. — A WOLF HUNT

SHOUTS of welcome saluted Beric as with his party he
crossed the rough
bridge over the stream and descended the slope to the village. Some fifteen
hundred men were gathered here, all armed for the chase with spears,
javelins, and long knives. Their hair fell over their necks, their faces
were, according to the universal custom, shaved with the exception of the
moustache. Many of them were tattooed—a custom that at one time had
been universal, but was now dying out among the more civilized. Most of them
were, save for the mantle, naked from the waist up, the body being stained a
deep blue with woad—a plant largely cultivated for its dye. This plant,
known as Isatis tinctoria, is still grown in France and Flanders. It requires
rich ground and grows to a height of three or four feet, bearing yellow
flowers. The dye is obtained from the leaves, which are stripped two or three
times in the season. They are partially dried, and are then pounded or
ground, pressed into a mass with the hands or feet, and piled in a heap, when
fermentation takes place. When this process is completed the paste is cut up,
and when placed in water yields a blue dye. It can also be prepared by laying
it in the water in the first place and allowing it to ferment there. The
water, which becomes a deep blue, is drawn off and allowed to settle, the dye
remaining at the bottom. Fresh water is then added to the leaves, which are
again stirred up and the operation is repeated.

Passing through the crowd of tribesmen, Beric entered his mother's abode,
walked up to the dais, and saluted her by a deep bow. Parta was a woman of
tall stature and of robust form. Her garment was fastened at each shoulder by
a gold brooch. A belt studded and clasped by the same metal girded it in at
the waist, and it then fell in loose folds almost to her feet. She had heavy
gold bracelets on her arms.

"You are late, Beric," she said sternly. "Our tribesmen have been waiting
nigh an hour for you. I only heard at daybreak that Borgon had gone out to
search for you with a party."

"It was well that he did, mother, for Boduoc and I were besieged in a hut
by a pack of wolves, who would shortly have made an end of us had not rescue
arrived."

"What were you doing in the hut?" she asked. "You told me you should leave
the Romans' town before sunset and make your way straight back here."

Beric shortly related the circumstances of the fight.

"It is well that it is no worse," she said; "but Boduoc ought to have
known better than to have allowed you to leave the trees, where you would at
least have been safe from the wolves. What mattered the life of a woman in
comparison to yours, when you know my hopes and plans for you? But stay not
talking. Magartha has some roasted kid in readiness for you. Eat it quickly,
and take a horn of mead, and be gone. An hour has been wasted already."

A few minutes sufficed for Beric to satisfy his hunger. Then he went out
and joined two or three minor chiefs of experience who had charge of the
hunt. The greater portion of the tribesmen had already started. Almost every
man had brought with him one or more large dogs trained in hunting the wolf
and boar, and the woods beyond the swamp rang with their deep barking.
Instructions had already been given to the men. These proceeded in parties of
four, each group taking its post some fifty yards from the next. Those who
had the farthest to go had started before daybreak, and it was another two
hours before the whole were in position, forming a long line through the
forest upwards of ten miles in length. A horn was sounded in the centre where
the leaders had posted themselves, and the signal was repeated at points
along the line, and then, with shouts on the part of the men and fierce
barkings on that of the dogs, the whole moved forward. The right of the line
rested on the Stour, the left upon the Orwell; and as they passed along
through the forest the line contracted. At times wild boars made a dash to
break through it. Many of these were slain, till the chiefs considered that
there was a sufficient supply of food, and the rest were then allowed to pass
through.

No wolves were seen until they neared the point where the two rivers
unite, by which time the groups were within a few paces of each other. Then
among the trees in front of them a fierce snarling and yelping was heard. The
dogs, which had hitherto been kept in hand, were now loosed, and with a shout
the men rushed forward both on the bluffs in the centre and along the low
land skirting the rivers on either side. Soon the wolves came pouring down
from the wooded bluff, and engaged in a furious conflict with the dogs. As
the men ran up, a few of the wolves in their desperation charged them and
endeavoured to break through, but the great majority, cowed by the clamour
and fierce assault, crouched to the earth and received their death blow
unresistingly. Some took to the water, but coracles had been sent down to the
point the evening before, and they were speedily slain. Altogether some four
or five hundred wolves were killed.

It was now late in the afternoon. Wood was collected and great fires made,
and the boars' flesh was soon roasting over them. At daybreak they started
again, and retracing their steps formed a fresh line at the point where the
last beat had begun, this time beating in a great semicircle and driving the
wolves down on to the Stour. So for a fortnight the war went on. Only such
deer and boar as were required for food were killed; but the wolves were
slain without mercy, and at the end of the operations that portion of the
country was completely cleared of these savage beasts, for those who had
escaped the beating parties had fled far away through the forest to more
quiet quarters.

The work had been laborious; for each day some forty miles had been
traversed in the march from the last place of slaughter to the next beat, and
in the subsequent proceedings. It had, however, been full of interest and
excitement, especially during the second week, when, having cleared all the
country in the neighbourhood of the rivers, the men were ranged in wide
circles some ten miles in diameter, advancing gradually towards a centre.
Occasionally many of the wolves escaped before the lines had narrowed
sufficiently for the men to be near enough to each other to oppose a
successful resistance, but in each case the majority continued to slink from
the approaching noises until the cordon was too close for them to break
through.

Altogether over four thousand wolves were slain. All those whose coats
were in good condition were skinned, the skins being valuable for linings to
the huts, for beds, and winter mantles. Many men had been bitten more or less
severely by them, but none had been killed; and there was much rejoicing at
the complete clearance from the district of a foe that had, since the arrival
of the large packs from the north, made terrible inroads among the herds of
cattle and swine, and had killed a considerable number of men, women, and
children. The previous winter had been a very severe one, and had driven
great numbers of wolves down from North Britain. The fighting that had been
going on for years in the south and west, and at times in the midlands, had
put a stop to the usual chases of wolves in those districts, and they had
consequently multiplied exceedingly and had become a serious scourge even
before the arrival of the fresh bands from the north. However, after so great
a slaughter it was hoped that for a time at least they would not again make
their appearance in that neighbourhood.

Returning home at the end of their expedition Beric was surprised as he
entered the hall to see a Druid standing upon the dais conversing with his
mother, who was pacing up and down with angry gestures. That their conference
was an important one he did not doubt; for the Druids dwelt in the recesses
of the forests or near their temples, and those who wished to consult them
must journey to them to ask their counsel beneath a sacred oak or in the
circle of the magic stones. When great events were impending, or when tribes
took up arms against each other, the Druids would leave their forest abodes,
and, interposing between the combatants, authoritatively bid them desist.
They acted as mediators between great chiefs, and were judges upon all
matters in dispute. He was sure, therefore, that the Druid was the bearer of
news of importance. He stood waiting in the centre of the hall until his
mother's eye fell upon him.

"Come hither, Beric," she said, "and hear the news that the holy Druid has
brought. Think you not that the Romans have carried their oppression far
enough when they have seized half the land of our island, enslaved the
people, and exacted tribute from the free Britons? What think you, now? The
Roman governor Severus, knowing that it is our religion as well as love of
our country that arms us against them, and that the Druids ever raise their
voices to bid us defend our altars and our homes, have resolved upon an
expedition against the Sacred Island, and have determined to exterminate our
priests, to break down our altars, and to destroy our religion. Ten days
since the legion marched from Camalodunum to join the army he is assembling
in the west. From all other parts he has drawn soldiers, and he has declared
his intention of rooting out and destroying our religion at its centre."

"The news is terrible," the Druid said, "but our gods will fight for us,
and doubtless a terrible destruction will fall upon the impious men who thus
dream of profaning the Sacred Island; but it may be otherwise, or perchance
the gods may see that thus, and thus only, can the people of Britain be
stirred to take up arms and to annihilate the worshippers of the false gods
of Rome. Assuredly we are on the eve of great events, and every Briton must
prepare to take up arms, either to fall upon the legions whom our gods have
stricken or to avenge the insult offered to our faith."

"It is terrible news, indeed," Beric said; "and though I am but a lad,
father, I am ready when the call comes to fight in the front ranks of the
Iceni with our people. My father fell fighting for his country by the sword
of the Romans, and I am ready to follow his example when my mother shall say,
'Go out to war.'"

"For the present, Beric, we must remain quiet; we must await news of the
result of this expedition; but the word has gone round, and I and my brethren
are to visit every chief of the Iceni, while the Druids of the north stir up
the Brigantes; the news, too, that the time of their deliverance is at hand,
and that they must hold themselves in readiness to rise against the
oppressors, is passing through the Trinobantes and the tribes of the south
and southwest. This time it must be no partial rising, and we must avoid the
ruinous error of matching a single tribe against the whole strength of the
Romans. It must be Britain against Rome—a whole people struggling for
their homes and altars against those who would destroy their religion and
reduce them to slavery."

"I would that it could have been postponed for a time, father," Beric
said. "During the four years I passed as a hostage at Camalodunum I have been
learning the tactics that have enabled the Romans to conquer us. I have
learned their words of command, and how the movements were executed, and I
hope when I become a man to train the Sarci to fight in solid order, to wheel
and turn as do the Romans, so that we might form a band which might in the
day of battle oppose itself to the Roman onset, check pursuit, and perhaps
convert a reverse into a victory."

"Heed not that," the Druid said enthusiastically. "It would be useful
indeed, but there is but scant time for it now. Our gods will fight for us.
We have numbers and valour. Our warriors will sweep their soldiers aside as a
wave dashes over a rock."

The conversation between the Druid and Parta had been heard by others in
the hall, and the news spread rapidly among the tribesmen as they returned
from the chase. Shouts of fury and indignation rose outside, and several of
the minor chiefs, followed by a crowd of excited men, poured into the hall,
demanding with loud shouts that war should be declared against the Romans.
The Druid advanced to the edge of the dais.

"Children," he said, "the time has not yet come, nor can the Sarci do
aught until the word is given by Prasutagus, and the whole of the Iceni rise
in arms, and not the Iceni alone, but Britons from sea to sea. Till then hold
yourselves in readiness. Sharpen your arms and prepare for the contest. But
you need a chief. In the ordinary course of things years would have elapsed
before Beric, the son of your last brave prince, would have been associated
with his mother in the rule of the tribe; but on the eve of such a struggle
ordinary customs and usages must be set at nought. I therefore, in virtue of
my sacred authority, now appoint Beric as chief next to his mother in the
tribe, and I bid you obey him in all things relating to war. He has learned
much of Roman ways and methods, and is thus better fitted than many far older
than he to instruct you how best to stand their onset, and I prophesy that
under him no small honour and glory will fall to the tribe, and that they
will bear a signal share in avenging our gods and winning our freedom. Come
hither, Beric;" and the Druid, laying a hand upon the lad's head, raised the
other to heaven and implored the gods to bestow wisdom and strength upon him,
and to raise in him a mighty champion of his country and faith. Then he
uttered a terrible malediction upon any who should disobey Beric's orders, or
question his authority, who should show faint heart in the day of battle, or
hold his life of any account in the cause of his country.

"Now," he concluded, "retire to your homes. We must give no cause or
pretext for Roman aggression until the signal is given. You will not be idle.
Your young chief will teach you somewhat of the discipline that has rendered
the Roman soldiers so formidable, so that you may know how to set yourselves
in the day of battle, how to oppose rank to rank, to draw off in good order,
or to press forward to victory. The issue is ever in the hands of the gods,
but we should do all we can to deserve it. It is good to learn even from our
enemies. They have studied war for ages, and if they have conquered brave
peoples, it has not been by superior valour, but because they have studied
war, while others have trusted solely to their native valour. Therefore deem
not instruction useless, or despise methods simply because you do not
understand them. None could be braver than those who fought under Caractacus,
yet they were conquered, not by the valour, but by the discipline of the
Romans. It was the will of the gods that your young chief should dwell for
four years a hostage among the Romans, and doubtless they willed it should be
so in order that he might be fitted to be a worthy champion of his country,
and so to effect what even the valour of Caractacus failed to do. The gods
have spoken by me. See that you obey them, and woe to the wretch who murmurs
even in his own heart against their decrees!"

As he concluded a loud shout was raised throughout the crowded hall, and
swelled into a mighty roar outside, for those at the open door had passed his
words to the throng of tribesmen outside. When the shout subsided, Beric
added a few words, saying, that although he regretted he had not yet come to
his full strength, and that thus early he should be called upon to lead men,
he accepted the decree of the gods, and would strive not to be wanting in the
day of trial. In matters connected with war he had learned much from the
Romans, who, oppressors as they were and despisers of the gods of Britain,
were skilled beyond all others in such matters. In all other respects he had
happily his mother's counsel and guidance to depend upon, and before assuming
any civil authority he should wait until years had taught him wisdom, and
should then go through all the usual ceremonies appointed by their religion,
and receive his instalment solemnly in the temple at the hands of the
Druids.

That night there was high feasting at Cardun. A bullock and three swine
were slain by order of Parta, and a number of great earthen jars of mead
broached, and while the principal men of the tribe feasted in the hall, the
rest made merry outside. The bard attached to Parta's household sang tales of
the glories of the tribe, even the women from the villages and detached huts
for a large circle round came in, happy that, now the wolves had been cleared
away, they could stir out after nightfall without fear. After entertaining
their guests in the hall, Parta and her son went round among the tribesmen
outside and saw that they had all they needed, and spoke pleasantly even to
the poorest among them.

It was long before Beric closed his eyes that night. The events of the day
had been a complete surprise to him. He had thought that in the distant
future he should share with his mother in the ruling of the tribe, but had
never once dreamed of its coming for years. Had it not been for the news that
they had heard of the intended invasion of the Holy Isle he should not have
regretted his elevation, for it would have given him the means and
opportunity to train the tribesmen to fight in close order as did the Romans.
But now he could not hope that there would be time to carry this out
effectually. He knew that throughout Britain the feeling of rage and
indignation at this outrage upon the gods of their country would raise the
passions of men to boiling point, and that the slightest incident would
suffice to bring on a general explosion, and he greatly feared that the
result of such a rising would in the end be disastrous.

His reading had shown him how great was the power of Rome, and how
obstinately she clung to her conquests. His countrymen seemed to think that
were they, with a mighty effort, to free Britain of its invaders, their
freedom would be achieved; but he knew that such a disaster would arouse the
Roman pride, and that however great the effort required, fresh armies would
be despatched to avenge the disaster and to regain the territory lost.

"The Britons know nothing of Roman power," he said to himself. "They see
but twenty or thirty thousand men here, and they forget that that number have
alone been sent because they were sufficient for the work, and that Rome
could, if need be, despatch five times as many men. With time to teach the
people, not of the Sarci tribe only, but all the Iceni, to fight in solid
masses, and to bear the brunt of the battle, while the rest of the tribes
attacked furiously on all sides, we might hope for victory; but fighting
without order or regularity, each man for himself, cannot hope to prevail
against their solid mass.

"If I could have gained a name before the time came, so that my voice
might have had weight and power in the councils of the chiefs, I might have
done something. As it is, I fear that a rising now will bring ruin and
slavery upon all Britain."

Beric thought but little of himself, or of the personal danger he should
encounter. The Britons were careless of their lives. They believed implicitly
in a future life, and that those who fell fighting bravely for their country
would meet with reward hereafter; hence, as among the Gauls, cowardice was an
almost unknown vice.

Beric had faith in the gods of his country, while he had none whatever in
those of Rome, and wondered how a mighty people could believe in such
deities; but, unlike the Britons in general, he did not believe that the gods
interfered to decide the fate of battles.

He saw that the Romans, with their false gods, had conquered all other
nations, and that so far they had uniformly triumphed over his own.
Therefore, mighty as he believed the gods to be, he thought that they
concerned themselves but little in the affairs of the world, and that battles
were to be won solely by valour, discipline, and numbers. Numbers and valour
the British had, but of discipline they were absolutely ignorant, and it was
this that gave so tremendous an advantage to the Romans. Hence Beric felt
none of the exultation and excitement that most British lads of his age would
have done on attaining to rank and command in the tribe to which they
belonged.

The Britons despised the Romans as much for their belief in many gods as
for their luxury, and what they considered their effeminacy. The religion of
the Britons was a pure one, though disfigured by the offering of human
sacrifices. They believed in one great Supreme Spirit, whose power pervaded
everything. They thought of him less as an absolute being than as a pervading
influence. They worshipped him everywhere, in the forests and in the streams,
in the sky and heavenly bodies. Through the Druids they consulted him in all
their undertakings. If the answer was favourable, they followed it; if
unfavourable, they endeavoured to change it by sacrifices and offerings to
the priests. They believed firmly in a life after death, when they held that
the souls of all brave and good men and women would be transported at once to
an island far out in the Atlantic, which they called the Happy Island. The
highest places would be theirs who had fought valiantly and died in battle;
but there was room for all, and all would be happy. Holding this idea firmly,
the Britons sought rather than avoided death. Their lives in their separate
tribes were quiet and simple, except when engaged in the chase or war. They
were averse to labour. They were domestic, virtuous, frank, and
straightforward. The personal property of a stranger was sacred among them,
and the most lavish hospitality was exercised. It was not strange that a
simple hardy people, believing firmly in the one supreme god, should have
regarded with contempt alike the luxury of the Romans and their worship of
many gods in the likenesses of men and women, and that the more Beric had
seen of the learning and wisdom of the Romans in other directions, the more
he should wonder that such a people should be slaves to what seemed to him
childish superstitions.

The next morning, after a consultation with some of the minor chiefs, a
hundred men were summoned to attend on the following day. They were picked
out from families where there were two or more males of working age, so that
there would be as little disturbance of labour as possible. It was
principally in companies of a hundred that Beric had seen the Romans
exercised, and he had learned every order by heart from first to last. The
manoeuvres to be taught were not of a complicated nature. To form in fighting
order six deep, and to move in column, were the principal points; but when
the next day the band assembled, Beric was surprised and vexed to find that
the operations were vastly more difficult than he expected. To begin with,
every man was to have his place in the line, and the tribesmen, though eager
to learn, and anxious to please their young chief, could not see that it
mattered in what order they stood. When, however, having arranged them at
first in a line two deep, Beric proceeded to explain how the spears were to
be held, and in what order the movements were to be performed,—the
exercise answering to the manual and platoon of modern days,—the
tribesmen were unable to restrain their laughter. What difference could it
make whether the hands were two feet apart or three, whether the spears were
held upright or sloped, whether they came down to the charge one after
another or all together? To men absolutely unaccustomed to order of any kind,
but used only to fight each in the way that suited him best, these details
appeared absolutely ludicrous.

Beric was obliged to stop and harangue them, pointing out to them that it
was just these little things that gave the Romans their fighting power; that
it was because the whole company moved as one man, and fought as one man,
each knowing his place and falling into it, however great the confusion,
however sudden the alarm, that made them what they were.

"Why do they conquer you?" he said. "Chiefly because you can never throw
them into confusion. Charge down upon them and break them, and they at once
reunite and a solid wall opposes your scattered efforts. You know how cattle,
when wolves attack them, gather in a circle with their horns outwards, and so
keep at bay those who could pull them down and rend them separately. At
present it seems ridiculous to you that every position of the hand, every
movement of the arm, should be done by rule; but when you have practised them
these will become a second nature; so with your other movements. It seems
folly to you to do with measured steps what it seems you could do far more
quickly by running together hastily; but it is not so. The slowest movement
is really the quickest, and it has the advantage that no one is hurried, that
everything is done steadily and regularly, and that even in the greatest heat
and confusion of a battle every man takes his place, as calm and ready to
fight as if no foe were in sight. Now let us try this again. At the end of
the day I shall pick out some of those who are quickest and most attentive,
and make of them officers under me. They will have more work to do, for they
will have to understand and teach my orders, but also they will gain more
honour and credit."

For hours the drill went on; then they broke off for dinner and again
worked until evening, and by that time had made sufficient progress in their
simple movements to begin to feel that there was after all something more in
it than they had fancied. For the first hour it had seemed to them a sort of
joke— a mere freak on the part of their young chief; but they were
themselves surprised to find by the end of the day how rapidly they were able
to change from their rank two deep into the solid formation, and how their
spears rose and fell together at the order. Beric bade them by the next
morning provide themselves with spears six feet longer. Britons were more
accustomed to fight with javelin than with spear, and the latter weapons were
shorter and lighter than those of the Romans. Beric felt that the advantage
should be the other way, for the small shields carried by the Britons were
inferior as defensive weapons to those of the Romans, and to preserve the
balance it was necessary therefore to have longer spears; the more so since
the Britons were taller, and far more powerful men than their foes, and
should therefore be able, with practice, to use longer weapons.

The next day Beric chose Boduoc as his second in command, and appointed
ten men sub-officers or sergeants. After a week of almost incessant work that
would have exhausted men less hardy and vigorous, Beric was satisfied. The
company had now come to take great interest in their work, and were able to
go through their exercises with a fair show of regularity. Even the older
chiefs, who had at first shaken their heads as they looked on, acknowledged
that there was a great deal to be gained from the exercises. Parta was
delighted. It was she who had foreseen the advantages that might be derived
from Beric's stay among the Romans, and she entered heartily into his plans,
ordering the men engaged to be fed from the produce of her flocks and
herds.

When the week was over two hundred more men were summoned, a sufficient
number of the brightest and most intelligent of the first company being
chosen as their sub-officers. Before the drill commenced, however, the first
company were put through their exercises in order that the newcomers might
see what was expected of them, and how much could be done. This time several
of the chiefs joined the companies in order that they might learn the words
of command and be fitted to lead. This greatly encouraged Beric, who had
foreseen that while he himself could command a company, he could do nothing
towards controlling ten or fifteen companies unless these had each officers
of rank and influence enough to control them.

The exercises after the first company had been drilled were carried on in
the forest some miles away from the village, the men assembling there and
camping beneath the trees, so that no rumour of gatherings or preparations
for war should reach the Romans, although at present these were not in a
position to make any eruption from Camalodunum, as the greater portion of the
legionaries had marched with Suetonius.

Returning one day to Cardun with Boduoc, Beric was surprised to hear loud
cries of lamentation. The women were running about with dishevelled hair and
disordered garments. Fearful that something might have happened to his
mother, he hurried on to the hall. Parta was sitting on the ground rocking
herself to and fro in her grief, while the women were assembled round her
uttering cries of anguish.

"What is the matter?" Beric asked as he hurried forward. The bard stepped
forward to answer the question.

"My son," he said, "misfortune has fallen on the land. The gods have
hidden their faces and refused to fight for their children. Woe and
desolation have come upon us. The altars are thrown down and the priests
slaughtered."

"Mona is taken!" Beric exclaimed.

"Yes, my son, Mona is taken. The Druid Boroc but an hour ago brought the
news. The Romans having reached the strait, constructed flat bottomed boats,
and in these approached the island, the horsemen towing their horses behind
them. There were assembled the women of the Silures and the Druids from all
parts of Britain, with many fugitives who had fled for shelter to the island.
The Druids remained by their altars offering up human sacrifices, the men and
women assembled on the beach waving torches, hurling imprecations upon the
invaders, and imploring the gods to aid them and to crush the impious foe.
For a time the Romans paused in mid channel, terrified at the spectacle, and
the hopes of all that the gods had paralysed their arms rose high; but, alas!
the halt was but temporary. Encouraging each other with shouts, they again
advanced, and, leaping from their boats, waded through the water and set foot
on the sacred soil.

"What was there to do? The men were few, and though the women in their
despair rushed wildly at the enemy, it was all in vain; men and women were
alike slaughtered; and then, moving forward, they advanced against the holy
circle and slew the Druids upon the altars of the gods they served, and yet
the gods were silent. They saw, they heard, but answered not; neither the
clouds rained fire upon the invaders nor the earth shook. Ah! my son, evil
days have fallen upon the land. What will be the end of them?"

Throughout the length and breadth of Britain a thrill of horror was felt
at the news of the massacre of Druids at Mona, and everywhere it was followed
by a stern determination to prepare for battle to clear the land of the
Romans. The Druids went from tribe to tribe and from village to village
stirring up men's hearts; the women, even more deeply excited than the men at
the news of the calamity, behaved as if possessed, many going about the
country calling upon the men to take up arms, and foretelling victory to the
Britons and destruction to the Romans; even in the streets of Camalodunum at
night their voices were heard crying out curses upon the Romans and
predicting the destruction of the city.

A week after the news came, Beric, in fulfilment of the promise he had
given to Berenice, paid another visit to Camalodunum. There were no signs in
its busy streets of uneasiness or fear. The new propraetor Catus Decianus,
who commanded in the absence of Suetonius, was holding a sort of court there,
and the bearing of the Romans seemed even more arrogant and insolent than
usual. The news of the destruction of the Druids at Mona had by them been
hailed as a final and most crushing blow to the resistance of the Britons.
Since their gods could not protect their own altars what hope could there be
for them in the future? Decianus, a haughty tyrant who had been sent to
Britain by Nero as a mark of signal favour, in order that he might enrich
himself by the spoils of the Britons, was levying exactions at a rate
hitherto unknown, treating the people as if they were but dirt under his
feet. His lieutenants, all creatures of Nero, followed his example, and the
exasperation of the unfortunate Trinobantes, who were the chief victims, had
reached such a point that they were ready for revolt whensoever the signal
might come.

On arrival at the house of Caius Muro, Beric found Berenice at home; she
received him with joy. "I am glad that you have come, Beric; it is so dull
now that father has gone away to the war. I have been expecting you here for
the last fortnight. I suppose you have been amusing yourself too much to give
a thought to me."

"I have been very busy, Berenice. I am a chief now, and have had much to
do in the tribe. Among other things we have been having great war with the
wolves."

"Yes, you told me when you were last here that you were going to set out
next day on an expedition against them."

"They began first, as it turned out," he said smiling, "and very nearly
made a meal of me that night on my way homeward."

"Sit down and tell me all about it," she said. "You know I love
stories."

Beric recited to her the story of the fight at the hut.

"And there was a woman there! How terrible it must have been for her to be
alone with her children before you arrived, and to think of her killing
wolves with the spear. How different your women must be from us, Beric, for
we are only taught to embroider, to dress ourselves, and to care for pretty
things. Why, I should be frightened out of my life at the sight of a wolf if
I were all alone and had no one to protect me."

"Our women are brought up differently, Berenice. We regard them as
altogether our equals, and many of our tribes are ruled by women. My own, you
know, for example. They do not go into battle with the men; but when a camp
is attacked they are ready to fight in its defence, and being brought up to
lead a vigorous life, they are well nigh as strong as we are. Among all the
Gaulish nations the women are held in high respect. Of course with you this
is so sometimes. Your father was wont to listen to the opinions of your
mother; but you know that is not often so, and that with many Romans women
are looked upon as inferior creatures, good only for dress and pleasure,
useful in ordering a house and in managing the slaves, but unfit to take part
in public life, and knowing nothing of aught save domestic affairs. And what
has been going on here, Berenice?"

"Nothing," the girl said; "at least I have been doing nothing. I went to
the footraces the other day, and saw the propraetor, but I don't like him. I
think that he is a bad man, and I hear stories among the ladies of his being
cruel and greedy; and there have been mad women going about at night
shrieking and crying; I have heard them several times myself. Some of the
ladies said they wish that my father was back here with his legion, for that
there are but few soldiers, and if Decianus continues to treat the people so
badly there may be trouble. What do you think, Beric?"

"I cannot say," he replied. "It seems to me that the Romans are bent upon
crushing us down altogether. They have just captured our Holy Island, slaying
the priests and priestesses, and overthrowing the altars, while Nero's
officers wring from the people the last coin and the last animal they
possess. I fear that there will be trouble, Berenice. No men worthy of the
name could see their gods insulted and themselves despoiled of all they
possess without striking a blow in defence."

"But they will only bring more trouble upon themselves," the girl said
gravely. "I have heard my father lament that they forced us to fight against
them, though you know he held that it was our fault more than theirs, and
that if they were ruled kindly and wisely, as were the people in Southern
Gaul, where the legion was stationed before it came over here, they would
settle down and live peaceably, and be greatly benefited by our rule."

"If you treat a man as you would a dog you must not be surprised if he
bites you," Beric said. "Some of your people not only think that we are dogs,
but that we are toothless ones. Mayhap they will find their mistake some
day."

"But you will never fight against us, Beric," the girl said anxiously,
"after living so long among us?"

"I would not fight against your father or against those who have treated
me well," he replied; "but against those who ill treat and abuse us I would
fight when my countrymen fought. Yet if I could ever do you a service,
Berenice, I would lay down my life to do it."

The event seemed so improbable to the girl that she passed over the
promise without comment.

"So you are a chief, Beric! But I thought chiefs wore golden bracelets and
ornaments, and you are just as you were when you came here last."

"Because I come here only as a visitor. If I came on a mission from the
queen, or as one of a deputation of chiefs, I should wear my ornaments. I
wear them at home now, those that my father had."

Beric stayed for some hours chatting with Berenice, and his old
instructor, who had been left by Caius in charge of the household. As he
walked home he wondered over the careless security of the Romans, and vowed
that should opportunity occur he would save Berenice from the fate that was
likely to fall upon all in Camalodunum should the Britons rise.

IV. — AN INFURIATED PEOPLE

"A FRESH misfortune has occurred," was the greeting with
which Beric's
mother met him on his return home. "Prasutagus is dead; and this is not the
worst, he has left half his estates to the Roman Emperor."

"To the Roman Emperor!" Beric repeated; "is it possible, mother?"

"It is true, Beric. You know he has always tried to curry favour with the
Romans, and has kept the Iceni from joining when other tribes rose against
Rome. He has thought of nothing but amassing wealth, and in all Britain there
is no man who could compare with him in riches. Doubtless he felt that the
Romans only bided their time to seize what he had gathered, and so, in order
that Boadicea and his daughters should enjoy in peace a portion of his
stores, he has left half to Nero. The man was a fool as well as a traitor.
The peasant who throws a child out of the door to the wolves knows that it
does but whet their appetite for blood, and so it will be in this case. I
hear Prasutagus died a week since, though the news has come but slowly, and
already a horde of Roman officials have arrived in Norfolk, and are
proceeding to make inventories of the king's possessions, and to bear
themselves as insolently as if they were masters of all. Trouble must come,
and that soon. Boadicea is of different stuff to her husband; she will not
bear the insolence of the Romans. It would have been well for the Iceni had
Prasutagus died twenty years ago and she had ruled our country."

"The gods have clearly willed, mother, that we should rise as one people
against the Romans. It may be that it was for this that they did not defend
their shrines from the impious hands of the invaders. Nought else stirred the
Britons to lay aside their jealousies and act as one people. Now from end to
end of the island all are burning for vengeance. Just at this moment, comes
the death of the Romans' friend Prasutagus, and the passing of the rule of
the Iceni into the hands of Boadicea. With the Romans in her capital the
occasion will assuredly not long be wanting, and then there will be such a
rising as the Romans have never yet seen; and then, their purpose effected,
the gods may well fight on our side. I would that there had been five more
years in which to prepare for the struggle, but if it must come it must. This
Catus Decianus is just the man to bring it on. Haughty, arrogant, and greedy,
he knows nothing of us, and has never faced the Britons in arms. Had
Suetonius been here he would not have acted thus with regard to the affairs
of Prasutagus. Had Caius Muro not been absent his voice might have been
raised in warning to the tyrant; but everything seems to conspire together,
mother, to bring on the crisis."

"The sooner the better," Parta exclaimed vehemently. "It is true that in
time you might teach the whole Iceni to fight in Roman methods, but what is
good for the Romans may not be good for us. Moreover, every year that passes
strengthens their hold on the land. Their forts spring up everywhere, their
cities grow apace; every month numbers flock over here. Another five years,
my son, and their hold might be too strong to shake off."

"That is so, mother. Thinking of ourselves I thought not of them; it may
be that it were better to fight now than to wait. Well, whenever the signal
is given, and from wheresoever it comes, we are ready."

Since the news of the capture of Mona had arrived, the tribesmen had
drilled with increased alacrity and eagerness. Every man saw that the
struggle with Rome must ere long take place, and was eager to take a leading
share in the conflict. It was upon them that the blow had fallen most heavily
in the former partial rising, and they knew that the other tribes of the
Iceni held that their defence of their camp should not have been overborne by
the Romans as it was; hence they had something of a private wrong as well as
a national one to avenge. Another fortnight was spent in constant work, until
one day the news came that Boadicea's daughters had been most grossly
insulted by the Roman officers, and that the queen herself had started for
Camalodunum to demand from Decianus a redress of their wrongs and the
punishment of the offenders. The excitement was intense. Every man felt the
outrage upon the daughters of their queen as a personal injury, and when
Beric took his place before the men of the tribe, who were drawn up in
military order, a shout arose: "Lead us to Camalodunum! Let us take
vengeance!"

"Not yet," Beric cried. "The queen has gone there; we must wait the issue.
Not until she gives the orders must we move. A rising now would endanger her
safety. We must wait, my friends, until all are as ready as we are; when the
time comes you will not find me backward in leading you."

Three days later came news that seemed at first incredible, but which was
speedily confirmed. Decianus had received the queen, had scoffed at her
complaints, and when, fired with indignation, she had used threats, he had
ordered his soldiers to strip and scourge her, and the sentence had actually
been carried into effect. Then the rage of the tribesmen knew no bounds, and
it needed the utmost persuasions of Parta herself to induce them to wait
until news came from the north.

"Fear not," she said, "that your vengeance will be baulked. Boadicea will
not submit to this double indignity, of that you maybe sure. Wait until you
hear from her. When measures are determined upon in this matter the Iceni
must act as one man. We are all equally outraged in the persons of our queen
and her daughters; all have a right to a share in avenging her insults. We
might spoil all by moving before the others are ready. When we move it must
be as a mighty torrent to overwhelm the invaders. Not Camalodunum only, but
every Roman town must be laid in ruins. It must be a life and death struggle
between us and Rome; we must conquer now or be enslaved for ever."

It was not long before messengers arrived from Boadicea, bidding the Sarci
prepare for war, and summoning Parta and her son to a council of the chiefs
of the tribe, to be held under a well known sacred oak in the heart of the
forest, near Norwich. Parta's chariot was at once prepared, together with a
second, which was to carry Boduoc and a female attendant of Parta, and as
soon as the horses were harnessed they started. Two long days' journey
brought them to the place of meeting. The scene was a busy one. Already fully
two score of the chiefs had arrived. Parta was received with great marks of
respect. The Sarci were the tribe lying nearest to the Romans, and upon them
the brunt of the Roman anger would fall, as it had done before; but her
appearance in answer to the summons showed, it was thought, their willingness
to join in the general action of the tribe.

Beric was looked at curiously. His four years' residence among the Romans
caused him to be regarded with a certain amount of suspicion, which had been
added to by rumours that he had been impressing upon the tribe the greatness
and power of Rome. Of late there had been reports brought by wandering bards
that the Sarci were being practised in the same exercises as those of the
Roman soldiers, and there were many who thought that Beric, like Cogidinus, a
chief of the Regi of Sussex, had joined himself heart and soul to Rome, and
was preparing his tribe to fight side by side with the legions. On the other
hand many, knowing that Parta had lost her husband at the hands of the
Romans, and hated them with all her heart, held that she would never have
divided her power with Beric, or suffered him to take military command of the
tribe, had she not been assured of his fidelity to the cause of Britain.

Beric was dressed in the full panoply of a chief. He wore a short skirt or
kilt reaching to his knees. Above it a loose vest or shirt, girt in by a gold
belt, while over his shoulders he wore the British mantle, white in colour
and worked with gold. Around his neck was the torque, the emblem of
chieftainship. On his left arm he carried a small shield of beaten brass, and
from a baldric covered with gold plates hung the straight pointless British
sword that had been carried by his father in battle. Even those most
suspicious of him could not deny that he was a stalwart and well built youth,
with a full share of pith and muscle, and that his residence among the Romans
had not given him any airs of effeminacy. The only subject of criticism was
that his hair was shorter than that of his countrymen, for although he had
permitted it to grow since he left Camalodunum, where he had worn it short,
in Roman fashion, it had not yet attained its full length.

Beric felt a stranger among the others. Since his return home there had
been no great tribal gathering, for Prasutagus had for some time been ill,
and had always discouraged such assemblages both because they were viewed
with jealousy by the Romans and because he begrudged the expenses of
entertaining. Parta, who was personally known to almost all present,
introduced Beric to them.

"My son is none the less one of the Iceni for his Roman training," she
said; "he has learned much, but has forgotten nothing. He is young, but you
will find him a worthy companion in arms when the day of battle comes."

"I am glad to hear what you say, Parta," Aska, one of the older chiefs,
said. "It would be unfair to impute blame to him for what assuredly was not
his fault, but I feared that they might have taught him to despise his
countrymen."

"It is not so, sir," Beric said firmly. "Happily I fell into good hands.
Caius Muro, the commander of the 12th Legion, in whose charge I was, is a
just as well as a valiant man, and had me instructed as if I had been his own
son, and I trust that I am none the less a true Briton because I except him
and his from the hatred I bear the Romans. He never said a word to me against
my countrymen, and indeed often bewailed that we were not treated more wisely
and gently, and were not taught to regard the Romans as friends and teachers
rather than oppressors."

"Well spoken, young chief!" the other said; "ingratitude is, of all sins,
the most odious, and you do well to speak up boldly for those who were kind
to you. Among all men there are good and evil, and we may well believe, even
among the Romans, there are some who are just and honourable. But I hear that
you admire them greatly, and that you have been telling to your tribe tales
of their greatness in war and of their virtues."

"I have done so," Beric replied. "A race could not conquer the world as
the Romans have done unless they had many virtues; but those that I chiefly
told of are the virtues that every Briton should lay to heart. I spoke of
their patriotism, of the love of country that never failed, of the stern
determination that enabled them to pass through the gravest dangers without
flinching, and to show a dauntless face to the foe even when dangers were
thickest and the country was menaced with destruction. Above all, how in
Rome, though there might be parties and divisions, there were none in the
face of a common enemy. Then all acted as one man; there was no rivalry save
in great deeds. Each was ready to give life and all he possessed in defence
of his country. These were lessons which I thought it well that every Briton
should learn and take to heart. Rome has conquered us so far because she has
been one while we are rent into tribes having no common union; content to sit
with our arms folded while our neighbours are crushed, not seeing that our
turn will come next. It was so when they first came in the time of our
forefathers, it has been so in these latter times; tribe after tribe has been
subdued; while, had we been all united, the Romans would never have obtained
a footing on our shore. No wonder the gods have turned away their faces from
a people so blind and so divided when all was at stake. Yes, I have learned
much from the Romans. I have not learned to love them, but I have learned to
admire them and to regret that in many respects my own countrymen did not
resemble them."

There was a murmur of surprise among the chiefs who had by this time
gathered round, while angry exclamations broke from some of the younger men;
but Aska waved his hand.

"Beric speaks wisely and truly," he said; "our dissensions have been our
ruin. Still more, perhaps, the conduct of those who should have led us, but
who have made terms with Rome in order to secure their own possessions. Among
these Prasutagus was conspicuous, and we ourselves were as much to blame as
he was that we suffered it. If he knows what is passing here he himself will
see how great are the misfortunes that he has brought upon his queen, his
daughters, and the tribe. Had we joined our whole forces with those of
Caractacus the Brigantes too might have risen. It took all the strength of
the Romans to conquer Caractacus alone. What could they have done had the
Brigantes and we from the north, and the whole of the southern tribes, then
unbroken, closed down upon them? It is but yesterday since Prasutagus was
buried. The grass has not yet begun to shoot upon his funeral mound and yet
his estates have been seized by the Romans, while his wife and daughters have
been insulted beyond measure.

"The young chief of the Sarci has profited by his sojourn among the
Romans. The Druids have told me that the priest who has visited the Sarci
prophesies great things of him, and for that reason decided that, young as he
was, he should share his mother's power and take his place as leader of the
tribe in battle, and that he foresaw that, should time be given him to ripen
his wisdom and establish his authority, he might some day become a British
champion as powerful as Cunobeline, as valiant as Caractacus. These were the
words of one of the wisest of the Druids. They have been passed round among
the Druids, and even now throughout Britain there are many who never so much
as heard of the name of the Sarci, who yet believe that, in this young chief
of that tribe, will some day be found a mighty champion of his country.
Prasutagus knew this also, for as soon as Beric returned from Camalodunum he
begged the Druids to find out whether good or evil was to be looked for from
this youth, who had been brought up among the Romans, and their report to him
tallied with that which I myself heard from them. It was for that reason that
Boadicea sent for him with his mother, although so much younger than any
here, and belonging to a tribe that is but a small one among the Iceni. I
asked these questions of him, knowing that among some of you there were
doubts whether his stay with the Romans had not rendered him less a Briton.
He answered as I expected from him, boldly and fearlessly, and, as you have
heard wisely, and I for one believe in the predictions of the Druids. But
here comes the queen."

As he spoke a number of chariots issued from the path through the forest
into the circular clearing, in the centre of which stood the majestic oak,
and at the same moment, from the opposite side, appeared a procession of
white robed Druids singing a loud chant. As the chariots drew up, the queen
and her two daughters alighted from them, with a number of chiefs of
importance from the branches of the tribe near her capital. Beric had never
seen her before, and was struck with her aspect. She was a tall and stately
woman, large in her proportions, with her yellow hair falling below her
waist. She wore no ornaments or insignia of her high rank; her dress and
those of her daughters were careless and disordered, indicative of mourning
and grief, but the expression of her face was that of indignation and passion
rather than of humiliation.

Upon alighting she acknowledged the greeting of the assembled chiefs with
a slight gesture, and then remained standing with her eyes fixed upon the
advancing Druids. When these reached the sacred tree they encircled it seven
times, still continuing their chanting, and then ranged themselves up under
its branches with the chief Druid standing in front. They had already been
consulted privately by the queen and had declared for war; but it was
necessary that the decision should be pronounced solemnly beneath the shade
of the sacred oak.

"I come as a supplicant to the gods," she said; "as an outraged queen, a
dishonoured woman, and a broken hearted mother, and in each of these
capacities I call upon my country's gods for vengeance." Then in passionate
words she poured out the story of the indignities that she and her daughters
had suffered, and suddenly loosening her garment, and suffering it to drop to
her waist, she turned and showed the marks of the Roman rods across her back,
the sight eliciting a shout of fury from the chiefs around her.

"Let all retire to the woods," the Druids said, "and see that no eye
profanes our mysteries. When the gods have answered we will summon you."

The queen, followed by all the chiefs, retired at once to the forest,
while the Druids proceeded to carry out the sacred mysteries. Although all
knew well what the decision would be, they waited with suppressed excitement
the summons to return and hear the decision that was to embark them in a
desperate struggle with Rome. Some threw themselves down under the trees,
some walked up and down together discussing in low tones the prospects of a
struggle, and the question what tribes would join it. The queen and her
daughters sat apart, none venturing to approach them. Parta and three other
female chiefs sat a short distance away talking together, while two or three
of the younger chiefs, their attitude towards Beric entirely altered by the
report of the Druids' predictions concerning him, gathered round him and
asked questions concerning the Romans' methods of fighting, their arms and
power. An hour after they had retired a deep sound of a conch rose in the
air. The queen and her daughters at once moved forward, followed by the four
female chiefs, behind whom came the rest in a body. Issuing from the forest
they advanced to the sacred oak and stood in an attitude of deep respect,
while the chief Druid announced the decision of the gods.

"The gods have spoken," he said. "Too long have the Iceni stood aloof from
their countrymen, therefore have the gods withdrawn their faces from them;
therefore has punishment and woe fallen upon them. Prasutagus is dead; his
queen and his daughters have suffered the direst indignities; a Roman has
seized the wealth heaped up by inglorious cowardice. But the moment has come;
the gods have suffered their own altars to be desecrated in order that over
the whole length and breadth of the land the cry for vengeance shall arise
simultaneously. The cup is full; vengeance is at hand upon the oppressors and
tyrants, the land reeks with British blood. Not content with grasping our
possessions, our lives and the honour of our women are held as nought by
them, our altars are cold, our priests slaughtered. The hour of vengeance is
at hand. I see the smoke of burning cities ascending in the air. I hear the
groans of countless victims to British vengeance. I see broken legions and
flying men.

"To arms! the gods have spoken. Strike for vengeance. Strike for the gods.
Strike for your country and outraged queen. Chiefs of the Iceni, to arms! May
the curse of the gods fall upon an enemy who draws back in the day of battle!
May the gods give strength to your arms and render you invincible in battle!
The gods have spoken."

A mighty shout was raised by his hearers; swords were brandished, and
spears shaken, and the cry "To arms! the gods have spoken," was repeated
unanimously. As the Druids closed round their chief, who had been seized with
strong convulsions as soon as he had uttered the message of the gods,
Boadicea turned to the chiefs and raised her arm for silence.

"I am a queen again; I reign once more over a race of men. No longer do I
feel the smart of my stripes, for each shall ere long be washed out in Roman
blood; but before action, counsel, and before counsel, food, for you have,
many of you, come from afar. I have ordered a feast to be prepared in the
forest."

She led the way across the opposite side of the glade, where, a few
hundred yards in the forest, a number of the queen's slaves had prepared a
feast of roasted sheep, pig, and ox, with bread and jars of drink formed of
fermented honey, and a sort of beer. As soon as the meal was concluded the
queen called the chiefs round her, and the assembly was joined by the
Druids.

"War is declared," she said; "the question is shall we commence at once,
or shall we wait?"

There was a general response "At once!" but the chief Druid stepped
forward and said: "My sons, we must not risk the ruin of all by undue haste;
this must be a national movement if it is to succeed. For a fortnight we must
keep quiet, preparing everything for war, so that we may take the field with
every man capable of bearing arms in the tribe. In the meantime we, with the
aid of the bards, will spread the news of the outrages that the Romans have
committed upon the queen and her daughters far and wide over the land.
Already the tribes are burning with indignation at the insults to our gods
and the slaughter of our priests at Mona, and this news will arouse them to
madness, for what is done here today may be done elsewhere tomorrow, and all
men will see that only in the total destruction of the Romans is there a hope
of freedom. All will be bidden to prepare for war, and, when the news comes
that the Iceni have taken up arms, to assemble and march to join us. On this
day fortnight, then, let every chief with his following meet at Cardun, which
is but a short march from Camalodunum. Then we will rush upon the Roman city,
the scene of the outrage to your queen, and its smoke shall tell Britain that
she is avenged, and Rome that her day of oppression is over."

The decision was received with satisfaction. A fortnight was none too long
for making preparations, assembling the tribesmen, and marching to the
appointed spot.

"One thing I claim," Boadicea said, "and that is the right to fall upon
and destroy instantly the Romans who installed themselves in my capital, and
who are the authors of the outrages upon my daughters. So long as they live
and lord it there I cannot return."

"That is right and just," the Druid said. "Slay all but ten, and hand them
over bound to us to be sacrificed on the altars of the gods they have
insulted."

"I will undertake that task, as my tribe lies nearest the capital," one of
the chiefs said. "I will assemble them tonight and fall upon the Romans at
daybreak."

"See that none escape," the Druid said. "Kill them and all their slaves
and followers. Let not one live to carry the news to Camalodunum."

"I shall be at the meeting place and march at your head," the queen said
to the chiefs; "that victory will be ours I do not doubt; but if the gods
will it otherwise I swear that I shall not survive defeat. Ye gods, hear my
vow."

The council was now over, and the queen mingled with the chiefs, saying a
few words to each. Beric was presented to her by his mother, and Boadicea was
particularly gracious to him. "I have heard great things predicted of you,
Beric. The gods have marked you out for favour, and their priests tell me
that you will be one day a great champion of the Britons. So may it be. I
shall watch you on the day of battle, and am assured that none among the
Iceni will bear themselves more worthily."

An hour later the meeting broke up, and Parta and Beric returned to
Cardun, where they at once began to make preparations for the approaching
conflict. Every man in the tribe was summoned to attend, and the exercises
went on from daybreak till dusk, while the women cooked and waited upon the
men. Councils were held nightly in the hall, and to each of the chiefs was
assigned a special duty, the whole tribe being treated as a legion, and every
chief and fighting man having his place and duty assigned to him.

In Camalodunum, although nothing was known of the preparations that were
being made, a feeling of great uneasiness prevailed. The treatment of
Boadicea had excited grave disapproval upon the part of the great majority of
the inhabitants, although new arrivals from Gaul or Rome and the officials in
the suite of Decianus lauded his action as an act of excellent policy.

"These British slaves must be taught to feel the weight of our arm," they
said, "and a lesson such as this will be most useful. Is it for dogs like
these to complain because they are whipped? They must be taught to know that
they live but at our pleasure; that this island and all it contains is ours.
They have no rights save those we choose to give them."

But the older settlers viewed the matter very differently. They knew well
enough that it was only after hard fighting that Vespasian had subdued the
south, and Ostorius crushed Caractacus. They knew, too, that the Iceni gave
but a nominal submission to Rome, and that the Trinobantes, crushed as they
were, had been driven to the verge of madness by extortion. Moreover the
legions were far away; Camalodunum was well nigh undefended, and lay almost
at the mercy of the Britons should they attack. They, therefore, denounced
the treatment of Boadicea as not only brutal but as impolitic in the
extreme.

The sudden cessation of news from the officials who had gone to take
possession of the estate of Prasutagus caused considerable uneasiness among
this section of the inhabitants of Camalodunum. Messengers were sent off
every day to inquire as to what had taken place after the return of Boadicea,
but none came back. The feeling of uneasiness was heightened by the attitude
of the natives. Reports came in from all parts of the district that they had
changed their attitude, that they no longer crouched at the sight of a Roman
but bore themselves defiantly, that there were meetings at night in the
forest, and that the women sang chants and performed dances which had
evidently some hidden meaning.

Decianus, conscious perhaps that his action was strongly disapproved by
all the principal inhabitants of the town, and that, perhaps, Suetonius would
also view it in the same light when it was reported to him, had left the city
a few days after the occurrence and had gone to Verulamium. His absence
permitted the general feeling of apprehension and discontentment more open
expression than it would otherwise have had. Brave as the Romans were, they
were deeply superstitious, and a thrill of horror and apprehension ran
through the city when it was reported one morning that the statute of Victory
in the temple had fallen to the ground, and had turned round as if it fled
towards the sea. This presage of evil created a profound impression.

"What do you think of it, Cneius?" Berenice asked; "it is terrible, is it
not? Nothing else is spoken of among all the ladies I have seen today, and
all agree it forbodes some terrible evil."

"It may, or it may not," the old scribe said cautiously; "if the statue
has fallen by the action of the gods the omen is surely a most evil one."

"But how else could it have fallen, Cneius?"

"Well, my dear, there are many Britons in the town, and you know they are
in a very excited state; their women, indeed, seem to have gone well nigh mad
with their midnight singing and wailing. It is possible—mind, I do not
for a moment say that it is so, for were the suggestion to occur to the
citizens it would lead to fresh oppressions and cruelties against the
Britons—but it is just possible that some of them may have entered the
temple at night and overthrown Victory's image as an act of defiance. You
know how the women nightly shriek out their prophecies of the destruction of
this town."

"But could they destroy it, Cneius? Surely they would never dare to attack
a great Roman city like this!"

"I don't know whether they dare or not, Berenice, but assuredly Decianus
is doing all in his power to excite them to such a pitch of despair that they
might dare do anything; and if they dare, I see nothing whatever to prevent
them from taking the city. The works erected after Claudius first founded the
colony are so vast that they would require an army to defend them, while
there are but a few hundred soldiers here. What could they do against a horde
of barbarians? I would that your father were back, and also the two legions
who marched away to join Suetonius. Before they went they ought to have
erected a central fort here, to which all could retire in case of danger, and
hold out until Suetonius came back to our assistance; but you see, when they
went away none could have foreseen what has since taken place. No one could
have dreamt that Decianus would have wantonly stirred up the Iceni to
revolt."

"But you don't think they have revolted?"

"I know nothing of it, Berenice, but I can put two and two together. We
have heard nothing for a week from the officials who went to seize the
possessions of Prasutagus. How is it that none of our messengers have
returned? It seems to me almost certain that these men have paid for their
conduct to the daughters of Boadicea with their lives."

"But Beric is with the Iceni. Surely we should hear from him if danger
threatened."

"He is with them," Cneius said, "but he is a chief, and if the tribe are
in arms he is in arms also, and cannot, without risking the forfeit of his
life for treachery, send hither a message that would put us on our guard. I
believe in the lad. Four years I taught him, and I think I know his nature.
He is honest and true. He is one of the Iceni and must go with his
countrymen; but I am sure he is grateful for the kindness he received here,
and has a real affection for you, therefore I believe, that should my worst
fears be verified, and the Iceni attack Camalodunum, he will do his utmost to
save you."

"But they will not kill women and girls surely, even if they did take the
city?"

"I fear that they will show slight mercy to any, Berenice; why should
they? We have shown no mercy to them; we have slaughtered their priests and
priestesses, and at the storm of their towns have put all to death without
distinction of age or sex. If we, a civilized people, thus make war, what can
you expect from the men upon whom we have inflicted such countless
injuries?"

The fall of the statue of Victory was succeeded by other occurrences in
which the awestruck inhabitants read augury of evil. It was reported that
strange noises had been heard in the council house and theatre, while men out
in boats brought back the tale that there was the appearance of a sunken town
below the water. It was currently believed that the sea had assumed the
colour of blood, and that there were, when the tide went out, marks upon the
sand as if dead bodies had been lying there. Even the boldest veterans were
dismayed at this accumulation of hostile auguries. A council of the principal
citizens was held, and an urgent message despatched to Decianus, praying that
he would take instance measures for the protection of the city. In reply to
this he despatched two hundred soldiers from Verulamium, and these with the
small body of troops already in the city took possession of the Temple of
Claudius, and began to make preparations for putting it into a state of
defence.

Still no message had come from Norwich, but night after night the British
women declared that the people of Camalodunum would suffer the same fate that
had already overwhelmed those who had ventured to insult the daughters of the
queen of the Iceni. A strange terror had now seized the inhabitants of the
town. The apprehension of danger weighted upon all, and the peril seemed all
the more terrible inasmuch as it was so vague. Nothing was known for certain.
No message had come from the Iceni since the queen quitted the town, and yet
it was felt that among the dark woods stretching north a host of foes was
gathering, and might at any moment pour down upon the city. Orders were
issued that at the approach of danger all who could do so were to betake
themselves at once to the temple, which was to act as a citadel, yet no
really effective measures were taken. There was, indeed, a vague talk of
sending the women and children and valuables away to the legion, commanded by
Cerealis, stationed in a fortified camp to the south, but nothing came of it;
all waited for something definite, some notification that the Britons had
really revolted, and while waiting for this nothing was done.

One evening a slave brought in a small roll of vellum to Cneius. It had
been given him at the door, he said, by a Briton, who had at once left after
placing it in his hands. The scribe opened it and read as follows:—

"To Cneius Nepo, greeting—Obtain British garb for yourself and
Berenice. Let her apparel be that of a boy. Should anything unusual occur by
night or day, do you and she disguise yourselves quickly, and stir not beyond
the house. It will be best for you to wait in the tablinum; lose no time in
carrying out this instruction."

There was no signature, nor was any needed.

"So the storm is about to burst," Cneius said thoughtfully when he had
read it. "I thought so. I was sure that if the Britons had a spark of manhood
left in them they would avenge the cruel wrongs of their queen. I am rejoiced
to read Beric's words, and to see that he has, as I felt sure he had, a
grateful heart. He would save us from the fate that he clearly thinks is
about to overwhelm this place. The omens have not lied then—not that I
believe in them; they are for the most part the offspring of men's fancy, but
at any rate they will come true this time. I care little for myself, but I
must do as he bids me for the sake of the girl. I doubt, though whether Beric
can save her. These people have terrible wrongs to avenge, and at their first
outburst will spare none. Well, I must do my best, and late as it is I will
go out and purchase these garments. It is not likely that the danger will
come tonight, for he would have given us longer notice. Still he may have had
no opportunity, and may not have known until the last moment when the attack
was to take place. He says 'lose no time.'"

Cneius at once went to one of the traders who dealt with the natives who
came into the town, and procured the garments for himself and Berenice. The
trader, who knew him by sight, remarked, "Have you been purchasing more
slaves?"

"No, but I have need for dresses for two persons who have done me some
service."

"I should have thought," the trader said, "they would have preferred
lighter colours. These cloths are sombre, and the natives, although their own
cloths are for the most part dark, prefer, when they buy of me, brighter
colours."

"These will do very well," Cneius said, "just at present Roman colours and
cloths are not likely to be in demand among them."

"No, the times are bad," the trader said; "there has been scarce a native
in my shop for the last ten days, and even among the townspeople there has
been little buying or selling."

Cneius returned to the house, a slave carrying his purchases behind him.
On reaching home he took the parcel from him, and carried it to his own
cubicule, and then ordered a slave to beg Berenice to come down from her
apartment as he desired to speak with her.

V. — THE SACK OF CAMALODUNUM

UPON the morning of the day fixed for the gathering of the
Iceni
preparations were begun early at Cardun. Oxen and swine were slaughtered,
great fires made, and the women in the village were all employed in making
and baking oaten cakes upon the hearth. For some days many of them had been
employed in making a great store of fermented honey and water. Men began to
flock in from an early hour, and by midday every male of the Sarci capable of
bearing arms had come in. Each brought with him a supply of cooked meat and
cakes sufficient to last for three or four days. In the afternoon the tribes
began to pour in, each tribe under its chiefs. There was no attempt at order
or regularity; they came trooping in in masses, the chiefs sometimes in
chariots sometimes on horseback, riding at their head. Parta welcomed them,
and food was served out to the men while the chiefs were entertained in the
hall. Beric, looking at the wild figures, rough and uncouth but powerful and
massive in frame, was filled with regret that these men knew nothing of
discipline, and that circumstances had forced on the war so suddenly.

The contrast between these wild figures and the disciplined veterans of
Rome, whom he had so often watched as they performed their exercises, was
striking indeed. Far inferior in height and muscular power to the tribesmen,
the legionaries bore themselves with a proud consciousness in their fighting
power that alone went a long way towards giving them victory. Each man
trusted not only in himself, but on his fellows, and believed that the legion
to which he belonged was invincible. Their regular arms, their broad shields
and helmets, all added to their appearance, while their massive formation, as
they stood shoulder to shoulder, shield touching shield, seemed as if it
could defy the utmost efforts of undisciplined valour. However, Beric thought
with pride that his own tribe, the sixteen hundred men he had for six weeks
been training incessantly, would be a match even for the Roman veterans.
Their inferiority in the discipline that was carried to such perfection among
the Romans would be atoned for by their superior strength and activity. His
only fear was, that in the excitement of battle they would forget their
teaching, and, breaking their ranks, fight every man for himself. He had,
however, spared no pains in impressing upon them that to do this would be to
throw away all that they had learned.

"I have not taught you to fight in Roman fashion," he said, "merely that
you might march in regular order and astonish the other tribesmen, but that
you should be cool and collected, should be able patiently to stand the shock
of the Roman legion, and to fight, not as scattered units, but as a solid
whole. You will do well to bear this in mind, for to those who disobey orders
and break the line when engaged with the foe I will show no mercy. My orders
will be given to each sergeant of ten men to run a spear through any man who
stirs from his post, whether in advance or in retreat, whether to slay or to
plunder. The time may come when the safety of the whole army depends upon
your standing like a wall between them and the Romans, and the man who
advances from his place in the ranks will, as much as the man who retreats,
endanger the safety of all."

Over and over again had he impressed this lesson upon them. Sometimes he
had divided them in two parts, and engaged in mimic fight. The larger half,
representing the tribesmen, advanced in their ordinary fashion with loud
shouts and cries, while the smaller section maintained their solid formation,
and with levelled spears, five deep, waited the attack. Even those who were
least impressed with the advantages of the exercises through which they had
been going, could not but feel how immensely superior was the solid order,
and how impossible would it have been for assailants to burst through the
hedge of pointed weapons.

By sunset well nigh thirty thousand men had arrived, each subtribe passing
through the village and taking up its post on the slopes around it, where
they were at once supplied with food by the women.

With the fighting men were large numbers of women, for these generally
accompanied the Britons on their warlike expeditions. Just at sunset a shout
arose from the tribesmen on the north side of the village, and Boadicea, with
her daughters and chief councillors, drove into the village. Her mien was
proud and lofty. She carried a spear in her hand and a sword in her girdle.
She had resumed her royal ornaments, and a fillet of gold surrounded her
head. Her garments were belted in with a broad girdle of the same metal, and
she wore heavy gold armlets and bracelets. She looked with pride upon the
tribesmen who thronged shouting to greet her, and exclaimed as she leapt from
her chariot, "The day of vengeance is at hand."

The fires blazed high all that night round Cardun. Numbers of bards had
accompanied the tribes, as not only had those who lived in the households of
the principal chiefs come in, but many had been attracted from the country
lying near their borders. At every fire, therefore, songs were sung and tales
told of the valour and glory of the heroes of old. Mingled with these were
laments over the evil days that had befallen Britain, and exhortations to
their hearers to avenge the past and prove themselves worthy of their
ancestors.

In similar manner the night was passed in Parta's hall. Here the chief
bards were assembled, with all the tribal leaders, and vied with each other
in their stirring chants. Beric moved about among the guests, seeing that
their wants were supplied, while Parta herself looked after those who were
gathered on the dais. Beric learned from the old chief Aska, who had first
spoken to him on the day of their arrival at the sacred oak, that all Britain
was ripe for the rising, and that messengers had been received not only from
the Brigantes, but from many of the southern and western tribes, with
assurances that they would rise as soon as they heard that the Iceni had
struck the first blow.

"The Trinobantes will join us at Camalodunum. All goes well. Suetonius,
with the legions, is still in the far west. We shall make an end of them here
before he can return. By that time we shall have been joined by most of the
tribes, and shall have a force that will be sufficient to destroy utterly the
army he is leading. That done, there will be but the isolated forts to
capture and destroy, and then Britain will be free from the invader. You
think this will be so, Beric?"

"I hope and trust so," Beric replied. "I think that success in our first
undertakings is a certainty, and I trust we may defeat Suetonius. With such
numbers as we shall put in the field we ought surely to be able to do so. It
is not of the present I think so much as of the future. Rome never submits to
defeat, and will send an army here to which that of Suetonius would be but a
handful. But if we remain united, and utilize the months that must elapse
before the Romans can arrive in preparing for the conflict, we ought to be
victorious."

"You feel sure that the Romans will try to reconquer Britain?"

"Quite sure. In all their history there is not an instance where they have
submitted to defeat. This is one of the main reasons of their success. I am
certain that, at whatever sacrifices, they will equip and send out an army
that they will believe powerful enough for the purpose."

"But they were many years after their first invasion before they came
again."

"That is true; but in those first two invasions they did not conquer. In
the first they were forced to retire, and therefore came again; in the second
they had success enough to be able to claim a victory and so to retire with
honour. Besides, Rome is vastly stronger and more powerful now than she was
then. Believe me, Aska, the struggle will be but begun when we have driven
the last Roman from the island."

"We must talk of this again," Aska said, "as it is upon us that the brunt
of this struggle will fall. We shall have the chief voice and influence after
it is over, and Boadicea will stand in the place that Cunobeline held, of
chief king of the island. Then, as you say, much will depend on the steps we
take to prepare to resist the next invasion; and young as you are, your
knowledge of Roman ways will render your counsels valuable, and give great
weight to your advice."

"I do not wish to put myself in any way in the foreground," Beric said. "I
am still but a boy, and have no wish to raise my voice in the council of
chiefs; but what I have learned of Roman history and Roman laws I would
gladly explain to those who, like yourself, speak with the voice of
authority, and whose wisdom all recognize."

In the morning Boadicea said that reports had been brought to her of the
manner in which Beric had been teaching the Sarci to fight in Roman fashion,
and that she should be glad to see the result.

Accordingly the tribesmen proceeded to the open fields a mile away, where
they had been accustomed to drill, and they were followed by the whole of
those gathered round the village. The queen and Parta drove out in their
chariots. When they reached the spot the chiefs of the other tribes, at
Beric's request, called upon their men to draw off and leave a space
sufficient for the exercises. This left the Sarci standing in scattered
groups over the open space, at one end of which Boadicea and all the chiefs
were gathered.

"They are now in the position, queen," Beric said, "of men unsuspecting
danger. I shall now warn them that they are about to be attacked, and that
they are to gather instantly to repel the enemy."

Taking the conch slung over his shoulder Beric applied it to his lips and
blew three short notes. The tribesmen ran together; there was, as it seemed
to the lookers on, a scene of wild confusion for a minute, and then they were
drawn up in companies, each a hundred strong, in regular order. A short blast
and a long one, and they moved up together into a mass five deep; a single
note, and the spears fell, and an array of glistening points shone in front
of them.

A shout of surprise and approval rose from the tribesmen looking on. To
them this perfect order and regularity seemed well nigh miraculous.

Beric now advanced to the line. At his order the two rear ranks stepped
backwards a few feet, struck their spears in the ground, and then discharged
their javelins—of which each man carried six—over the heads of
the ranks in front, against the enemy supposed to be advancing to attack
them. Then seizing their spears they fell into line again, and at another
order the whole advanced at a quick pace with levelled spears to the charge,
and keeping on till within a few paces of where the queen was standing,
halted suddenly and raised their spears. Again a roar of applause came from
the tribesmen.

"It is wonderful," the queen said. "I had not thought that men could be
taught so to move together; and that is how the Romans fight, Beric?"

"It is, queen," Beric said. "The exercises are exactly similar to those of
the Romans. I learnt them by heart when I was among them, and the orders are
exactly the same as those given in the legions—only, of course, they
are performed by trained soldiers more perfectly than we can as yet do them.
It is but two months since we began, and the Romans have practised them for
years. Had I time you would have seen them much more perfect than at
present."

"You have performed marvels," she said. "I wish that you had had more
time, and that all the Iceni, and not the Sarci only could have thus learned
to meet the enemy. Do you not think so, chiefs?"

"It is wonderful," one of the chiefs said; "but I think that it is not so
terrifying to a foe as the rush of our own men. It is better for resistance,
but not so good for attack. Still it has great merits; but I think it more
suited for men who fight deliberately, like the Romans, than for our own
tribesmen, who are wont to rely for victory each upon his own strength and
valour."

"What say you, Beric?" the queen asked.

"It would be presumptuous for me to give my opinion against that of a
great chief," Beric said quietly; "But, so far, strength and valour have not
in themselves succeeded. The men of Caractacus had both, but they were
unavailing against the solid Roman line. We have never yet won a great
victory over the Romans, and yet we have fought against them valiantly. None
can say that a Briton is not as brave and as strong as a Roman. In our
battles we have always outnumbered them. If we have been beaten, therefore,
it has been surely because the Roman method of fighting is superior to our
own."

There was a murmur of assent from several of the chiefs.

"Beric's argument is a strong one," the queen said to the one who had
spoken; "and I would that all the Iceni had learnt to fight in this fashion.
However, we shall have opportunities of seeing which is right before we have
finished with the Romans. March your men back again, Beric."

Beric sounded his horn, and the line, facing half round, became a column,
and marched in regular order back to the village. The morning meal was now
taken, and at midday the march began. Boadicea with her daughters, Parta and
other women of rank, went first in their chariots; and the Sarci, who, as
lying next to the enemy's country, were allowed the post of honour, followed
in column behind her, while the rest of the tribesmen made their way in a
miscellaneous crowd through the forest. They halted among the trees at a
distance of four miles from Camalodunum, and then rested, for the attack was
not to take place until daybreak on the next morning.

Late that evening two or three women of the Trinobantes came out, in
accordance with a preconcerted arrangement, to tell them that there was no
suspicion at Camalodunum of the impending danger; and that, although there
was great uneasiness among the inhabitants, no measures for defence had been
taken, and that even the precaution of sending away the women and children
had not been adopted.

No fires had been lighted; the men slept in the open air, simply wrapping
themselves in their mantles and lying down under the trees. Beric had a long
talk with Boduoc and ten of the tribesmen of the latter's company.

"You understand," Beric said at last, "that if, as I expect, the surprise
will be complete and no regular resistance be offered, I shall sound my horn
and give the signal for the tribe to break ranks and scatter. You ten men
will, however, keep together, and at once follow Boduoc and myself. As soon
as we enter the house to which I shall lead you, you will surround the two
persons I shall place in your charge, and will conduct them to the spot where
the chariot will be waiting. You will defend them, if necessary, with your
lives, should any disobey my order to let you pass through with them. As soon
as they are placed in the chariot you will be free to join in the sack, and
if you should be losers by the delay, I will myself make up your share to
that of your comrades. You are sure, Boduoc, that all the other arrangements
are perfect?"

"Everything is arranged," Boduoc said. "My brother, who drives the chariot
that brought your mother's attendants, quite understands that he is to follow
as soon as we move off, and keeping a short way behind us is to stop in front
of the last house outside the gate until we come. As soon as he has taken
them up he will drive off and give them into the charge of our mother, who
has promised you to have everything in readiness for them; the skins for
beds, drinking vessels, food, and everything else necessary was taken there
two days ago. My sisters will see to the comfort of the young lady, and you
can rely upon my mother to carry out all the orders you have given her. Our
hut lies so deeply in the forest that there is little chance of anyone going
near it, especially as the whole of the men of the tribe are away."

Two hours before daylight the Iceni moved forward. They were to attack at
a number of different points, and each chief had had his position allotted to
him. The Sarci were to move directly against the northern gate and would form
the centre of the attack. Each man, by Beric's order, carried a faggot so
that these could be piled against the wall by the gate and enable them to
effect an entrance without the delay that would be incurred in breaking down
the massive gates. They passed quietly through the cultivated fields, and
past the houses scattered about outside the walls, whose inhabitants had
withdrawn into the city since the alarm spread. They halted at a short
distance from the gate, for sentries would be on guard there, and remained
for nearly an hour, as many of the other tribesmen had a considerably longer
distance to go to reach their appointed stations. A faint light was beginning
to steal over the sky when, far away on their right, a horn sounded. It was
repeated again and again, each time nearer, and ran along far to the left;
then, raising their war cry, the Sarci dashed forward to the gate.

The shouts of the sentinels on the walls had arisen as soon as the first
horn sounded, and had scarcely died away when the Sarci reached the gate.
Each man as he arrived threw down his faggot, and the pile soon reached the
top of the wall. Then Beric led the way up and stood on the Roman work. The
sentries, seeing the hopelessness of resistance, had already fled, and the
Sarci poured in. A confused clamour of shouts and cries rose from the town,
above which sounded the yells of the exulting Iceni. Beric gave the signal
for the Sarci to scatter, and the tribesmen at once began to attack the
houses. Placing himself at the head of Boduoc's chosen party, Beric ran
forward. Already from some of the houses armed men were pouring out, but
disregarding these Beric pressed on until he reached the house of Caius Muro.
His reason for haste was that, standing rather on the other side of the town,
it was nearer the point assailed by one of the other divisions of the tribe
than to the north gate, and he feared that others might arrive there before
him. Reaching the door he beat upon it with the handle of his sword.

"Open, Cneius," he shouted, "it is I, Beric."

The door was opened at once, and he ran forward into the atrium, which was
filled with frightened slaves, who burst into cries of terror as, followed by
his men, he entered. "Where are you, Cneius?" Beric shouted.

"I am here," the scribe replied from his cubicule, "I will be with you in
a moment; it is but a minute since we were awoke by the uproar."

"Be quick!" Beric said, "there is not a moment to be lost.

"Run up to the women's apartments," he said to a slave, "and tell your
mistress to hurry down, for that every minute is precious."

Almost immediately Berenice came down the stairs in her disguise as a
British boy, and at the same moment Cneius issued from his room.

"Come, Berenice," Beric said, "there is not a moment to be lost; the town
is in our hands, and if others of the tribe arrive I might not be able to
save you."

Hurrying them from the house he ordered the men to close round them, and
then started on his way back. A terrible din was going on all round; yells,
shouts, and screams arising from every house. Flames were bursting up at a
dozen points. To his great satisfaction Beric reached the point where the
Sarci were at work, breaking into the houses, before he encountered any of
the other Iceni. The men were too busy to pay any attention to the little
group of their own tribesmen; passing through these they were soon at the
gate. It already stood open, the bolts having been drawn by those who first
entered. Fifty yards from the wall stood the chariot.

"Now you can leave us," Beric said to his followers, "I will rejoin you
soon."

Berenice was crying bitterly, horror stricken at the sounds she had heard,
though happily she had seen nothing, being closely shut in by the tall forms
of her guard.

"Thanks be to the gods that I have saved you, Berenice," Beric said, "and
you also, Cneius! Now I must commit you to the care of the driver of the
chariot, who is one of my tribesmen. He will take you to a retreat where you
will, I trust, be in perfect safety until the troubles are over. His mother
has promised to do all in her power for your comfort. You will find one of
our huts but a rough abode, but it will at least be a shelter."

"Cannot you come with us, Beric?" the girl sobbed.

"That I cannot do, Berenice. I am a Briton and a chief, and I must be with
my tribe. And now I must away. Farewell, Berenice! may your gods and mine
watch over you! Farewell, my kind teacher!"

He took off the torque, the collar formed of a number of small metal cords
interlaced with each other, the emblem of rank and command, and handed it to
the driver. "You will show this, Runoc, to any you meet, for it may be that
you will find parties of late comers on the road. This will be a proof that
you are journeying on my business and under my orders. Do not stop and let
them question you, but drive quickly along, and if they should shout and bid
you stop, hold up the torque and shout, 'I travel at speed by my chief's
orders.'

"Do you both sit down in the chariot," he said to the others. "Then as you
journey rapidly along it will be supposed that you are either wounded or
messengers of importance. Farewell!"

Cneius and the girl had already mounted the chariot, and the driver now
gave the horses rein and started at full speed. Beric turned and re-entered
the town slowly. In those days pity for the vanquished was a sentiment but
little comprehended, and he had certainly not learned it among the Romans,
who frequently massacred their prisoners wholesale. Woe to the vanquished!
was almost a maxim with them. But Beric shrank from witnessing the scene, now
that the tables were turned upon the oppressors. Nationally he hated the
Romans, but individually he had no feeling against them, and had he had the
power he would at once have arrested the effusion of blood. He wished to
drive them from the kingdom, not to massacre them; but he knew well that he
had no power whatever in such a matter. Even his own tribesmen would not have
stayed their hand at his command. To slay a Roman was to them a far more
meritorious action than to slay a wolf, and any one who urged mercy would
have been regarded not only as a weakling but as a traitor.

Already the work was well nigh done. Pouring in on all sides into the city
the Iceni had burst into the houses and slain their occupants whether they
resisted or not. A few men here and there sold their lives dearly, but the
great majority had been too panic stricken with the sudden danger to attempt
the slightest resistance. Some of the inhabitants whose houses were near the
temple had fled thither for refuge before the assailants reached them, but in
half an hour from the striking of the first blow these and the troops there
were the sole survivors of the population of Camalodunum. For the present the
temple was disregarded. It was known that the garrison did not exceed four
hundred men, and there was no fear of so small a body assuming the
offensive.

The work of destruction had commenced. There was but little plundering,
for the Britons despised the Roman luxuries, of the greater part of which
they did not even comprehend the use. They were Roman, and therefore to be
hated as well as despised. Save, therefore, weapons, which were highly
prized, and gold ornaments, which were taken as trinkets for the women at
home, nothing was saved. As the defenders of each house were slain, fire was
applied to hangings and curtains, and then the assailants hurried away in
search of fresh victims. Thus the work of destruction proceeded concurrently
with that of massacre, and as the sun rose vast columns of smoke mounting
upwards conveyed the news to the women of the Iceni and Trinobantes for a
circle of many miles round, that the attack had been successful, and that
Camalodunum, the seat of their oppressors, was in flames. Beric, as he made
his way towards the centre of the town, sighed as he passed the shop where
two months before he had stopped a moment to look at the rolls of vellum.

The destruction of the monuments of Roman luxury; the houses with their
costly contents; and even the Palace of Cunobeline, which had been converted
into the residence of the Roman governor, had not affected him; but he
mourned over the loss of the precious manuscripts which had contained such a
wealth of stored up learning. Already the house was wrapped in flames, which
were rushing from the windows, and the prize which he had looked upon as his
own special share of the plunder had escaped him.

At the edge of the broad open space that surrounded the Temple of Claudius
the Britons were gathering thickly. Beric applied his horn to his lips, and
in a few minutes the Sarci gathered round him. Bidding them stand in order he
moved away to see what disposition was being made for the attack on the
temple, but at present all were too excited with their success for any to
assume the lead or give orders. At the first rush parties of the Britons had
made for the temple, but had been received with showers of darts and stones,
and had been met on the steps by the Roman soldiers and roughly repulsed.
Walking round he came upon the chariot of Boadicea. The queen was flushed
with excitement and gratified vengeance, and was shaking her spear menacingly
towards the temple; her eye presently fell upon Beric.

"The work has begun well, my young chief, but we have still to crush the
wolves in their den. It is a strong place, with its massive walls unpierced
save by the doorway at each end; but we will have them out if to do so we are
forced to tear it down stone by stone."

"I trust that we shall not be as long as that would take, queen," Beric
said, "for we have other work to do."

Just at this moment one of the chiefs of the Trinobantes came up. "Queen
Boadicea," he said, "we crave that we may be allowed to storm the temple. It
is built on our ground as a sign of our subjection, and we would fain
ourselves capture it."

"Be it so," the queen replied. "Do you undertake the task at once."

The Trinobantes, who had joined the Iceni in the attack on the town,
presently gathered with loud shouts, and under their chiefs rushed at the
temple. From the roof darts and stones were showered down upon them; but
though many were killed they swarmed up the broad steps that surrounded it on
all sides and attacked the doors. Beric shook his head, and returning to his
men led them off down one of the broad streets to an open space a short
distance away.

"This will be our gathering place," he said. "Do not wander far away, and
return quickly at the sound of my horn. We may be wanted presently. I do not
think that the Trinobantes will take the temple in that fashion."

They had indeed advanced entirely unprovided with proper means of assault.
The massive gates against which the Romans had piled stones, casks of
provisions, and other heavy articles were not to be broken down by such force
as the Britons could bring against them. In vain these chopped with their
swords upon the woodwork. The gates were constructed of oak, and the weapons
scarce marked them. In vain they threw themselves twenty abreast against
them. The doors hardly quivered at the shock, and in the meantime the
assailants were suffering heavily, for from openings in the roof, extending
from the building itself to the pillars that surrounded it, the Romans
dropped missiles upon them.

For some time the Trinobantes persevered, and then their chiefs, seeing
that the attempt was hopeless, called off their followers. No fresh attempt
was made for a time, and Boadicea established herself in one of the few
houses that had escaped the flames, and there presently the chiefs assembled.
Various suggestions were made, but at last it was decided to batter in the
doors with a heavy tree, and a strong party of men were at once despatched to
fell and prepare two of suitable size. The operation was a long one, as the
trees when found had to be brought down by lighting fires against the trunks,
and it was nightfall before they fell and the branches were cut off. It was
decided, therefore, to postpone the attack until the next day.

Beric had not been present at the council, to which only a few of the
leading chiefs had been summoned; but he doubted, when he heard what had been
decided upon, whether the attack would be successful. It was settled that the
Trinobantes were to attack the door at one end of the temple, and the Iceni
that at the other. Late in the evening the chariot returned, and Beric was
greatly relieved to hear that the fugitives had been placed in safety and
that the journey had been made without interference. He was glad to recover
his torque, for its absence would have excited surprise when men's minds were
less occupied and excited. Not until he recovered it could he go to see
Parta, who was lodged with the queen, but as soon as he recovered it he went
in. Every sign of Roman habitation and luxury had been, as far as possible,
obliterated by order of Boadicea before she entered the house. Hangings had
been pulled down, statues overthrown, and the paintings on the plaster
chipped from the walls.

"What have you been doing all day, Beric?" his mother asked. "I looked to
see you long before this, and should have thought that some accident had
befallen you had I not known that the news would have been speedily brought
me had it been so."

"I have been looking after the tribesmen, mother. I should have come in to
see you, but did not wish to intrude among the chiefs in council with the
queen. You represented the Sarci here, and had we been wanted you would have
sent for me. Who are to attack the temple tomorrow?"

"Not the Sarci, my son. Unser begged that he and his tribe might have the
honour, and the queen and council granted it to him."

"I am glad of it, mother. The duty is an honourable one, but the loss will
be heavy, and others can do the work as well as we could, and I want to keep
our men for the shock of battle with the legions. Moreover, I doubt whether
the doors will be battered down in the way they propose."

"You do, Beric! and why is that?" The speaker was Aska, who had just left
the group of chiefs gathered round the queen at the other end of the
apartment, and had come close without Beric hearing him.

The lad coloured. "I spoke only for my mother's hearing, sir," he said.
"To no one else should I have ventured to express an opinion on a course
agreed upon by those who are older and wiser than myself."

"That is right, Beric; the young should be silent in the presence of their
elders; nevertheless I should like to know why you think the assault is
likely to fail."

"It was really not my own opinion I was giving, sir. I was thinking of the
manner in which the Romans, who are accustomed to besiege places with high
walls and strong gates, proceed. They have made these matters a study, while
to us an attack upon such a place is altogether new, seeing that none such
exist in Britain save those the Romans have erected."

"How would they proceed, Beric?"

"They would treat an attack upon such a place as a serious matter, not to
be undertaken rashly and hastily, but only after great preparation. In order
to batter down a gate or a wall they use heavy beams, such as those that have
been prepared for tomorrow, but they affix to the head a shoe of iron or
brass. They do not swing it upon men's arms, seeing that it would be most
difficult to get so many men to exercise their strength together, and indeed
could not give it the momentum required."

"But we propose to have the beam carried by fifty men, and for all to rush
forward together and drive it against the door."

"If the door were weak and would yield to the first blow that might
avail," Beric said; "but unless it does so the shock will throw down the tree
and the men bearing it. Many will be grievously hurt. Moreover, if, as will
surely be the case, many of the bearers fall under the darts of the Romans as
they approach, others will stumble over their bodies, and the speed of the
whole be greatly checked."

"Then can you tell me how the Romans act in such a case, Beric?"

"Yes, sir. I have frequently heard relations of sieges from soldiers who
have taken part in them. They build, in the first place, movable towers or
sheds running on wheels. These towers are made strong enough to resist the
stones and missiles the besieged may hurl against them. Under cover of the
shelter men push up the towers to the door or wall to be battered; the beam
is then slung on ropes hanging from the inside of the tower. Other ropes are
attached; numbers of men take hold of these, and working together swing the
beam backwards and forwards, so that each time it strikes the wall or door a
heavy blow. As the beam is of great weight, and many men work it, the blows
are well nigh irresistible, and the strongest walls crumble and the most
massive gates splinter under the shock of its iron head."

"The Romans truly are skilled warriors," Aska said. "We are but children
in the art of war beside them, and methinks it would be difficult indeed for
us to construct such a machine, though mayhap it could be done had we with us
many men skilled in the making of chariots. But sometimes, Beric, they must
have occasion to attack places where such machines could not well be
used."

"In that case, sir, they sometimes make what they call a tortoise. The
soldiers link their broad shields together, so as to form a complete
covering, resembling the back of a tortoise, and under shelter of this they
advance to the attack. When they reach the foot of the wall all remain
immovable save those in the front line, who labour with iron bars to loosen
the stones at the foot of the wall, protected from missiles from above by the
shields of their comrades. From time to time they are relieved by fresh
workers until the foundations of the wall are deeply undermined. As they
proceed they erect massive props to keep up the wall, and finally fill up the
hole with combustibles. After lighting these they retire. When the props are
consumed the wall of course falls, and they then rush forward and climb the
breach."

"Truly, Beric, you have profited by your lessons," Aska said, laying his
hand kindly on the lad's shoulder. "The Druids spoke wisely when they
prophesied a great future for you. Before we have done we may have many Roman
strongholds to capture, and when we do I will see that the council order that
your advice be taken as to how they shall be attacked; but in this matter
tomorrow things must remain as they are. Unser is a proud chief, and
headstrong, and would not brook any interference. Should he be repulsed in
the assault, I will advise the queen to call up the Sarci, and allow you to
proceed in your own manner."

"I will do my best, sir; but time is needed for proceeding according to
the first Roman method, and our shields are too small for the second. The
place should be taken by tomorrow night, for Cerealis will assuredly move
with his legion to relieve it as soon as he hears the news of our
attack."

"That is what has been in our minds," Aska said. "Well, what do you say,
Beric? After what I saw the other day of the movements you have taught your
tribe I should be sorry to have their ranks thinned in a hopeless attack upon
the temple. I would rather that we should leave it for the present and march
out to meet Cerealis, leaving a guard here to keep the Romans hemmed in until
we have time to deal with them."

Beric stood for a minute or two without answering, and then said, "I will
undertake it, sir, with the Sarci should Unser's attack fail."

VI. — FIRST SUCCESSES

UPON leaving his mother, Beric returned to the spot where
the Sarci were
lying. Some of the chiefs were sitting round a fire made of beams and
woodwork dragged from the ruins of the Roman houses.

"We must be up an hour before daybreak; I think that there will be work
for us tomorrow. If Unser and his tribe fail in capturing the temple we are
to try; and there will be preparations to make." And he explained the plan
upon which he had determined.

Daylight was just breaking when the Sarci entered the forest four miles
from Camalodunum. Here they scattered in search of dry wood. In two hours
sufficient had been gathered for their purpose, and it was made up into two
hundred great faggots nearly four feet across and ten in length, in weight as
much as a strong man could carry on his head. With these they returned to the
city. It needed no questions as to the result of the attack, which had just
terminated with the same fortune that had befallen that on the day previous.
Unser had been killed, and large numbers of his men had fallen in their vain
attempts to hew down the gates. The battering rams had proved a complete
failure. Many of the fifty men who carried the beam had fallen as they
advanced. The others had rushed at the gate door, but the recoil had thrown
them down, and many had had their limbs broken from the tree falling on them.
Attempts had been made to repeat the assault; but the Romans having pierced
the under part of the roof in many places, let fall javelins and poured down
boiling oil; and at last, having done all that was possible, but in vain, the
tribesmen had fallen back.

Beric proceeded at once to the queen's. A council was being held, and it
had just been determined to march away to meet Cerealis when Beric entered.
Aska left his place in the circle of chiefs as soon as he saw him enter the
door.

"Are you ready to undertake it, Beric? Do not do so unless you have strong
hopes of success. The repulses of yesterday and today have lowered the
spirits of our men, and another failure would still further harm us."

"I will undertake it, Aska, and I think I can answer for success; but I
shall need three hours before I begin."

"That could be spared," the chief said. "Cerealis will not have learned
the news until last night at the earliest—he may not know it yet. There
is no fear of his arriving here until tomorrow." Then he returned to his
place.

"Before we finally decide, queen," he said, "I would tell you that the
young chief Beric is ready to attack the place with the Sarci. He has learned
much of the Roman methods, and may be more fortunate than the others have
been. I would suggest that he be allowed to try, for it will have a very ill
effect upon the tribes if we fail in taking the temple, which is regarded as
the symbol of Roman dominion. I will even go so far as to say that a retreat
now would go very far to mar our hopes of success in the war, for the news
would spread through the country and dispirit others now preparing to join
us."

"Why should Beric succeed when Unser has failed?" one of the chiefs said.
"Can a lad achieve a success where one of our best and bravest chiefs has
been repulsed?"

"I think that he might," Aska replied. "At any rate, as he is ready to
risk his life and his tribe in doing so, I pray the queen to give her
consent. He demands three hours to make his preparations for the attack."

"He shall try," Boadicea said decidedly. "You saw the other day, chiefs,
how well he has learned the Roman methods of war. He shall have an
opportunity now of turning his knowledge to account. Parta, you are willing
that your son should try?"

"Certainly I am willing," Parta said. "He can but die once; he cannot die
in a nobler effort for his country."

"Then it is settled," the queen said. "The Sarci will attack in three
hours."

As soon as Beric heard the decision he hurried away and at once ordered
the tribesmen to scatter through the country and to kill two hundred of the
cattle roaming at present masterless, to strip off their hides, and bring
them in. They returned before the three hours expired, bringing in the hides.
In the meantime Beric had procured from a half consumed warehouse a quantity
of oil, pitch, and other combustibles, and had smeared the faggots with them.
On the arrival of the men with the hides, these were bound with the raw side
upwards over the faggots.

Two hundred of the strongest men of the tribe were then chosen and divided
into two parties, and the rest being similarly divided, took their station at
the ends of the square facing the gates. When Beric sounded his horn the
faggot bearers raised their burdens on to their heads and formed in a close
square, ten abreast, with the faggots touching each other. Beric himself
commanded the party facing the principal entrance, and holding a blazing
torch in each hand, took his place in the centre of the square, there being
ample room for him between the lines of men. The rest of the tribe were
ordered to stand firmly in order until he gave the signal for the advance.
Then he again sounded his horn, and the two parties advanced from the
opposite ends of the square.

As soon as they came within reach the Romans showered down darts and
javelins; but these either slipped altogether from the surface of the wet
hides, or, penetrating them, went but a short distance into the faggots; and
the British tribesmen raised shouts of exultation as the two solid bodies
advanced unshaken to the steps of the temple. Mounting these they advanced to
the gates. In vain the Romans dropped their javelins perpendicularly through
the holes in the ceiling of the colonnade, in vain poured down streams of
boiling oil, which had proved so fatal to the last attack. The javelins
failed to penetrate, the oil streamed harmless off the hides. The men had,
before advancing, received minute instructions. The ten men in the front line
piled their faggots against the door, and then keeping close to the wall of
the temple itself, slipped round to the side colonnade.

The operation was repeated by the next line, and so on until but two lines
remained. Then the two men at each end of these lines mounted the pile of
faggots and placed their burdens there, leaving but six standing. In their
centre Beric had his place, and now, kneeling down under their shelter,
applied his torches to the pile. He waited till he saw the flames beginning
to mount up. Then he gave the word; the six men dropped their faggots to the
ground, and with him ran swiftly to the side colonnade, where they were in
shelter, as the Romans, knowing they could not be attacked here, had made no
openings in the ceiling above. The Britons were frantic with delight when
they saw columns of smoke followed by tongues of flames mounting from either
end of the temple. Higher and higher the flames mounted till they licked the
ceiling above them.

For half an hour the fire continued, and by the end of that time there was
but a glowing mass of embers through which those without could soon see right
into the temple. The doors and the obstacles behind them had been destroyed.
As soon as he was aware by the shouts of his countrymen that the faggots were
well in a blaze, Beric had sounded his horn, and he and the tribesmen from
both colonnades had run across the open unmolested by the darts of the
Romans, who were too panic stricken at the danger that threatened them to pay
any heed to their movements. Beric was received with loud acclamations by the
Iceni, and was escorted by a shouting multitude to the queen, who had taken
her place at a point where she could watch the operations. She held out her
hand to him. "You have succeeded, Beric," she said; "and my thanks and those
of all here—nay, of all Britain—are due to you. In half an hour
the temple will be open to attack."

"Hardly in that time, queen," he replied. "The faggots will doubtless have
done their work by then, but it will be hours before the embers and stonework
will be sufficiently cool to enable men to pass over them to the
assault."

"We can wait," the queen said. "A messenger, who left the camp of Cerealis
at daybreak, has just arrived, and at that hour nothing was known to the
Romans of our attack here. They will not now arrive until tomorrow."

Not until the afternoon was it considered that the entrances would be cool
enough to pass through. Then the Sarci prepared for the attack, binding
pieces of raw hide under their feet to protect them from the heated
stonework. They were formed ten abreast. Beric took his place before the
front line of one of the columns, and with levelled spears they advanced at a
run towards the doors. A shower of missiles saluted them from the roof. Some
fell, but the rest, pressing on in close order, dashed through the gateway
and flung themselves upon the Roman soldiers drawn up to oppose their
passage. The resistance was feeble. The Romans had entirely lost heart and
could not for a moment sustain the weight of the charge. They were swept away
from the entrance, and the Britons poured in.

Standing in groups the Romans defended themselves in desperation; but
their efforts were vain, and in five minutes the last defender of the place
was slain. As soon as the fight was over the whole of the Iceni rushed
tumultuously forward with exultant shouts and filled the temple; then a horn
sounded and a lane was made, as Boadicea, followed by her chiefs and
chieftainesses, entered the temple. The queen s face was radiant with
triumph, and she would have spoken but the shouting was so loud that those
near her could not obtain silence. They understood, however, when advancing
to the statues of the gods that stood behind the altars, she waved her spear.
In an instant the tribesmen swarmed round the statues, ropes were attached to
the massive figures, and Jupiter, Mars, and Minerva fell to the ground with a
crash, as did the statue of the Emperor Claudius.

A mighty shout hailed its downfall. The gods of the Britons, insulted and
outraged, were avenged upon those of Rome; the altars of Mona had streamed
with the blood of the Druids, those of Camalodunum were wet with the gore of
Roman legionaries. The statues were broken to pieces, the altars torn down,
and then the chiefs ordered the tribesmen to fetch in faggots. Thousands went
to the forest, while others pulled down detached houses and sheds that had
escaped the flames, and dragged the beams and woodwork to the temple. By
nightfall an enormous pile of faggots was raised round each of the eight
interior columns that in two lines supported the roof. Torches were applied
by Boadicea, her two daughters and some of the principal Druids, and in a
short time the interior of the temple was a glowing furnace. The beams of the
ceiling and roof soon ignited and the flames shot up high into the air.

All day the Trinobantes had been pouring in, and a perfect frenzy of
delight reigned among the great crowd looking on at the destruction of the
temple that had been raised to signify and celebrate the subjugation of
Britain. Women with flowing hair performed wild dances of triumph; some
rushed about as if possessed with madness, uttering prophecies of the total
destruction of the Romans; others foamed at the mouth and fell in
convulsions, while the men were scarcely less excited over their success.
Messengers had already brought in news that at midday Cerealis had learned
that Camalodunum had been attacked, and that the legion was to start on the
following morning to relieve the town.

The news had been taken to him by one of the Trinobantes, who had received
his instructions from Aska. He was to say that the town had suddenly been
attacked and that many had fallen; but the greater portion of the population
had escaped to the temple, which had been vainly attacked by the Iceni. The
object of this news was to induce Cerealis to move out from his fortified
camp. The chiefs felt the difficulty of assaulting such a position, and
though they had dreaded the arrival of Cerealis before the temple was taken,
they were anxious that he should set out as soon as they saw that Beric's
plan of attack had succeeded, and that the temple was now open to their
assault.

At midnight the roof of the temple fell in, and nothing remained but the
bare walls and the columns surrounding them. The chiefs ordered their
followers to make their way through the still burning town and to gather by
tribes outside the defensive works, and there lie down until morning, when
they would march to meet the legion of Cerealis. At daybreak they were again
afoot and on the march southward, swollen by the accession of the Trinobantes
and by the arrival during the last two days of tribes who had been too late
to join the rest at Cardun. The British force now numbered at least fifty
thousand.

"It is a great army, Beric," Boduoc said exultingly as they moved
forward.

"It is a great host," Beric replied. "I would that it were an army. Had
they all even as much training as our men I should feel confident in the
future."

"But surely you are confident now, Beric; we have begun well."

"We have scarcely begun at all," Beric said. "What have we done? Destroyed
a sleeping town and captured by means of fire a temple defended by four
hundred men. We shall win today, that I do not doubt. The men are wrought up
by their success, and the Romans are little prepared to meet such a
force—I doubt not that we shall beat them, but to crush a legion is not
to defeat Rome. I hope, Boduoc, but I do not feel confident. Look back at the
Sarci and then look round at this disordered host. Well, the Romans in
discipline and order exceed the Sarci as much as we exceed the rest of the
Iceni. They will be led by generals trained in war; we are led by chiefs
whose only idea of war is to place themselves at the head of their tribe and
rush against the enemy. Whether courage and great numbers can compensate for
want of discipline remains to be seen. The history of Rome tells me that it
has never done so yet."

After five hours' marching some fleet footed scouts sent on ahead brought
in the news that the Romans were approaching. A halt was called, and the
chiefs assembled round the queen's chariot in council. Beric was summoned by
a messenger from the queen.

"You must always attend our councils," she said when he came up. "You have
proved that, young as you are, you possess a knowledge of war that more than
compensates for your lack of years. You have the right, after capturing the
temple for us, to take for the Sarci the post of honour in today's battle.
Choose it for yourself. You know the Romans; where do you think we had better
fight them?"

"I think we could not do better than await them here," he said. "We stand
on rising ground, and one of the Trinobantes to whom I have just spoken says
that there is a swamp away on the left of our front, so that the Roman
horsemen cannot advance in that direction. I should attack them in face and
on their left flank, closing in thickly so as to prevent their horsemen from
breaking out on to the plain at our right and then falling upon us in our
rear. Since you are good enough to say that I may choose my post for the
Sarci, I will hold them where they stand; then, should the others fail to
break the Roman front, we will move down upon them and check their advance
while the rest attack their flanks."

This answer pleased some of the chiefs, who felt jealous of the honour the
small tribe had gained on the previous day. They were afraid that Beric would
have chosen to head the attack.

"Does that plan please you?" Boadicea asked.

"It is as well as another," one of the chiefs said. "Let the Sarci look on
this time while we destroy the enemy. I should have thought Beric would have
chosen for his tribe the post of honour in the attack."

"The Romans always keep their best troops in reserve," Beric said quietly;
"in a hard fight it is the reserve that decides the fate of the battle."

"Then let it be so," Boadicea said. "Is the swamp that you speak of
deep?"

"It is not too deep for our men to cross," one of the chiefs of the
Trinobantes said; "but assuredly a horseman could not pass through it."

"Very well, then, let the Trinobantes attack by falling upon the Romans on
our right; the Iceni will attack them in front; and the Sarci will remain
where they stand until Beric sees need for them to advance."

In a few minutes the Roman legion was seen advancing, with a portion of
the cavalry in front and the rest in the rear. The queen, whose chariot was
placed in front of the line, raised her spear. A tremendous shout was raised
by the Britons, and with wild cries the tribes poured down to the attack,
while the women, clustered on the slopes they had left, added their shrill
cries of encouragement to the din. The Romans, who, believing that the
Britons were still engaged in the attack on Camalodunum, had no expectation
of meeting them on the march, halted and stood uncertain as the masses of
Britons poured down to the attack. Then their trumpets sounded and they again
advanced, the cavalry in the rear moving forward to join those in the
advance, but before they accomplished this the Britons were upon them.
Showers of darts were poured in, and the horsemen, unable to stand the
onslaught, rode into the spaces between the companies of the infantry, who,
moving outwards and forming a solid column on either flank, protected them
from the assaults of their foes.

The Britons, after pouring in showers of javelins, flung themselves, sword
in hand, upon the Roman infantry; but these with levelled spears showed so
solid a front that they were unable to break through, while from behind the
spearmen, the light armed Roman troops poured volleys of missiles among them.
Boadicea called Beric to her side.

"It is as you said, Beric; the order in which the Romans fight is
wonderful. See how steadily they hold together, it is like a wild boar
attacked by dogs; but they will be overwhelmed, see how the darts fly and how
bravely the Iceni are fighting."

The tribesmen, indeed, were attacking with desperate bravery. Seizing the
heads of the spears they attempted to wrest them from their holders, or to
thrust them aside and push forward within striking distance. Sometimes they
partially succeeded, and though the first might fall others rushing in behind
reached the Romans and pressed them backwards, but reserves were brought up
and the line restored. Then slowly but steadily the Romans moved forward, and
although partial success had at some points attended those who attacked them
in flank, the front of the column with serried spears held its way on in
spite of the efforts of the Britons to arrest the movement. Presently the
supply of javelins of their assailants began to fail, and the assaults upon
the head of the column to grow more feeble, while the shouts of the Roman
soldiers rose above the cries of their assailants.

"Now it is time for us to move down," Beric said; "if we can arrest the
advance their flanks will be broken in before long. Now, men," he shouted as
he returned to his place at the head of the Sarci, "now is the time to show
that you can meet the Romans in their own fashion. Move slowly down to the
attack, let no man hasten his pace, but let each keep his place in the ranks.
Four companies will attack the Romans in front, the others in column five
deep will march down till they face the Roman flank, then they will march at
it, spears down, and break it in."

Beric sounded his bugle, and ten deep the four hundred men moved steadily
down to the attack of the Romans. The five front ranks marched with levelled
spears, those behind prepared to hurl their darts over their heads. When
within fifty yards of the enemy the Sarci raised their battle cry, and the
Iceni engaged with the Romans in front, seeing the hedge of spears advancing
behind them, hurriedly ran off at both flanks and the Sarci advanced to the
attack.

The Romans halted involuntarily, astonished at the spectacle. Never before
had they encountered barbarians advancing in formation similar to their own,
and the sight of the tall figures advancing almost naked to the
assault— for the Britons always threw off their garments before
fighting—filled them with something like consternation. At the shouts
of their officers, however, they again got into motion and met the Britons
firmly. The additional length Beric had given to the spears of the Sarci now
proved of vital advantage, and bearing steadily onward they brought the
Romans to a standstill, while the javelins from the British rear ranks fell
thick and fast among them. Gradually the Romans were pressed backwards,
quickly as the gaps were filled up by those behind, until the charging shout
of the Sarci on their flank was heard. Beric blew his horn, and his men with
an answering shout pressed forward faster, their cries of victory rising as
the Romans gave way.

Still the latter fought stubbornly, until triumphant yells and confused
shouts told them that the flank had given way under the attack of the
Britons. Then Beric's horn sounded again, the slow advance was converted into
a charge, the ranks behind closed up, and before the weight and impetus of
the rush the Roman line was broken. Then the impetuosity of the Sarci could
no longer be restrained, in vain Beric blew his horn. Flinging down their
spears and drawing their swords the Britons flung themselves on the broken
mass, the other tribesmen pouring in tumultuously behind them.

For a few minutes a desperate conflict raged, each man fighting for
himself, but numbers prevailed, the Roman shouts became feebler, the war
cries of the Britons louder and more triumphant. In ten minutes the fight was
over, more than two thousand Roman soldiers lay dead, while Cerealis and the
cavalry, bursting their way through their assailants, alone escaped,
galloping off at full speed towards the refuge of their fortified camp. The
exultation of the Britons knew no bounds. They had for the first time since
the Romans set foot on their shore beaten them in a fair fight in the open.
There was a rush to collect the arms, shields, and helmets of the fallen
Romans, and two of the Sarci presently brought the standards of the legion to
Beric.

"Follow me with them," he said, and, extricating himself from the throng,
ascended the slope to where Boadicea, surrounded with women who were dancing
and joining in a triumphant chant of victory, was still standing in her
chariot.

"Here are the Roman standards, the emblems of victory," Beric said as he
approached the chariot.

Boadicea sprang down, and advancing to him, embraced him warmly. "The
victory is yours, Beric," she said. "Keep these two eagles, and fix them in
your hall, so that your children's children may point to them with pride and
say, 'It was Beric, chief of the Sarci, who first overthrew the Romans in the
field.' But there is no time to be lost;" and she turned to her charioteer,
who carried a horn. "Sound the summons for the chiefs to assemble."

There were several missing, for the Britons had suffered heavily in their
first attack.

"Chiefs," she said, "let us not lose an instant, but press on after the
Romans. Let us strike before they recover from their confusion and surprise.
Catus Decianus may be in their camp, and while I seek no other spoil, him I
must have to wreak my vengeance on. See that a party remain to look to the
wounded, and that such as need it are taken to their homes in wagons." The
horns were at once sounded, the tribesmen flocked back to the positions from
which they had charged, and resumed their garments. Then the march was
continued.

They presented a strange appearance now. Almost every man had taken
possession of some portion or other of the Romans' arms. Some had helmets,
others shields, others breastplates, swords, or spears. The helmets, however,
were speedily taken off and slung behind them, the heads of the Iceni being
vastly larger than those of the Romans, the tallest of whom they overtopped
by fully six inches. The arms of the officer who commanded under Cerealis
were offered to Beric, but he refused them.

"I fight to drive the Romans from our land," he said, "and not for spoil.
Nothing of theirs will I touch, but will return to the forest when all is
over just as I left it."

By evening they approached the Roman camp. A portion of the legion had
been left there when Cerealis set out, and in the light of the setting sun
the helmets and spearheads could be seen above the massive palisades that
rose on the top of the outworks. The Britons halted half a mile away, fires
were lighted, and the men sat down to feast upon the meat that had been
brought in wagons from Camalodunum. Then a council was held. As a rule, the
British councils were attended by all able bodied men. The power of the
chiefs, except in actual war, was very small, for the Britons, like their
Gaulish ancestors, considered every man to be equal, and each had a voice in
the management of affairs. Thus every chief had, before taking up arms, held
a council of his tribesmen, and it was only after they had given their vote
for war that he possessed any distinct power and control.

When the council began, one of the chiefs of the Trinobantes was asked
first to give a minute description of the Roman camp. The works were
formidable. Surrounding it was a broad and deep fosse, into which a stream
was turned. Beyond this there was a double vallum or wall of earth so steep
as to be climbed with great difficulty. In the hollow between the two walls
sharp stakes were set thickly together. The second wall was higher than the
first, and completely commanded it. Along its top ran a solid palisade of
massive beams, behind which the earth was banked up to within some three and
a half feet from the top, affording a stand for the archers, slingers, and
spearmen.

The council was animated, but the great majority of chiefs were in favour
of leaving this formidable position untouched, and falling upon places that
offered a chance of an easier capture. The British in their tribal wars
fought largely for the sake of plunder. In their first burst of fury at
Camalodunum they had, contrary to their custom, sought only to destroy; but
their thirst for blood was now appeased, they longed for the rich spoils of
the Roman cities, both as trophies of victory and to adorn their women. The
chiefs represented that already many of their bravest tribesmen had fallen,
and it would be folly to risk a heavy loss in the attack upon such a
position.

What matter, they argued, if two or three hundred Romans were left there
for the present? They could do no harm, and could be either captured by force
or obliged to surrender by hunger after Suetonius and the Roman army had been
destroyed. Not a day should be lost, they contended, in marching upon
Verulamium, after which London could be sacked, for, although far inferior in
size and importance to Camalodunum and Verulamium, it was a rising town,
inhabited by large numbers of merchants and traders, who imported goods from
Gaul and distributed them over the country.

Beric's opinion was in favour of an instant assault, and in this he was
supported by Aska and two or three of the older chiefs; but the majority were
the other way, and the policy of leaving altogether the fortified posts
garrisoned by the Romans to be dealt with after the Roman army had been met
and destroyed was decided upon. One of the arguments employed was that while
the capture of these places would be attended with considerable loss, it
would add little to the effect that the news of the destruction of the chief
Roman towns would have upon the tribes throughout the whole country, and
would take so long that Suetonius might return in time to succour the most
important places before the work was done. Aska walked away from the council
with Beric.

"They have decided wrongly," he said.

"I do not think it much matters," Beric replied. "Everything hangs at
present upon the result of our battle with Suetonius. If we win, all the
detached forts must surrender; if we lose, what matters it?"

"You think we shall lose, Beric?"

"I do not say that," Beric said; "but see how it was today. The Iceni made
no more impression upon the Roman column than if they had been attacking a
wall. They hindered themselves by their very numbers, and by the time we meet
the Romans our numbers will be multiplied by five, perhaps by ten. But shall
we be any stronger thereby? Will not rather the confusion be greater? Today
the Roman horse fled; but had they charged among us, small as was their
number, what confusion would they have made in our ranks! A single Briton is
a match for a single Roman, and more. Ten Romans fighting in order might
repel the assault of a hundred, and as the numbers multiply so does the
advantage of discipline increase. I hope for victory, Aska, but I cannot say
that I feel confident of it."

Marching next morning against Verulamium, they arrived there in the
afternoon and at once attacked it. The resistance was feeble, and bursting
through in several places the Iceni and Trinobantes spread over the town,
slaughtering all they found. Not only the Romans, but the Gauls settled in
the city, and such Britons as had adopted Roman customs were put to the
sword. The city was then sacked and set on fire. It was now decided that
instead of turning towards London they should march west in order that they
might be joined by other tribes on their way and meet Suetonius returning
from Wales.

There was no haste in their movements. They advanced by easy stages, their
numbers swelling every day, tribe after tribe joining them, as the news
spread of the capture and destruction of the two chief Roman towns, and the
defeat and annihilation of one of the legions. So they marched until, a
fortnight after the capture of Verulamium, the news arrived that Suetonius,
marching with all speed towards the east, had already passed them, gathering
up on his way the garrisons of all the fortified posts. Then the great host
turned and marched east again. Beric regretted deeply the course that had
been taken. Had the garrisons all been attacked and destroyed separately, the
army they would have to encounter would have been a little more than half the
strength of that which Suetonius would be able to put into the field when he
collected all the garrisons.

But the Britons troubled themselves in no way. They regarded victory as
certain, and expressed exultation that they should crush all the Romans at
one blow in the open field, instead of being forced to undertake a number of
separate sieges. Still marching easily, they came down upon the valley of the
Thames and followed it until they arrived at London. They had expected that
Suetonius would give battle before they arrived there. He had indeed passed
through the town a few days previously, but had disregarded the prayers of
the inhabitants to remain for their protection. He allowed all males who
chose to do so to enlist in the ranks and permitted others to accompany the
army, but he wished before fighting to be joined by Cerealis and the
survivors of his legion, and by the garrisons of other fortified posts. The
Britons therefore fell upon London, slaughtered all the inhabitants, and
sacked and burned the town. It was calculated that here and in the two Roman
cities no less than 80,000 persons had been slain. This accomplished, the
great host again set out in search of Suetonius. They were accompanied now by
a vast train of wagons and chariots carrying the women and spoil.

Beric was not present at the sack of London. As they approached the town
and it became known that Suetonius had marched away, and that there would be
no resistance, he struck off north. Since they had left Verulamium the
tribesmen had given up marching in military order. They were very proud of
the credit they had gained in the battle with the Romans, but said that they
did not see any use in marching tediously abreast when there was no enemy
near. Beric having no power whatever to compel them, told them that of course
they could do as they liked, but that they would speedily forget all they had
learned. But the impatience of restraint of any kind, or of doing anything
unless perfectly disposed to do it, which was a British characteristic, was
too strong, and many were influenced by the scoffs of the newcomers, who, not
having seen them in the day of battle, asked them scornfully if the Sarci
were slaves that they should obey orders like Roman soldiers.

Boduoc, although he had objected to the drill at first, and had scoffed at
the idea of men fighting any better because they all kept an even distance
from each other, and marched with the same foot forward, had now become an
enthusiast in its favour and raged at this falling away. But Beric said, "It
is no use being angry, Boduoc. I was surprised that they consented at first,
and I am not surprised that they have grown tired of it. It is the fault of
our people to be fickle and inconstant, soon wearying of anything they
undertake; but I do not think that it matters much now. We alone were able to
decide the fight when there were but two thousand Roman spearmen; but when we
meet Suetonius, he will have ten thousand soldiers under him, and our
multitude is so great that the Sarci would be lost in the crowd. If the
Britons cannot beat them without us, we should not suffice to change the
fortunes of the day."

It was partly to escape the sight of the sack of London, partly because he
was anxious to know how Berenice and Cneius Nepo were faring that Beric left
the army, and drove north in a chariot. After two days' journey he arrived at
the cottage of Boduoc's mother. The door stood open as was the universal
custom in Britain, for nowhere was hospitality so lavishly practised, and it
was thought that a closed door might deter a passerby from entering. His
footsteps had been heard, for two dogs had growled angrily at his approach.
The old woman was sitting at the fire, and at first he saw no one else in the
hut.

"Good will to all here!" he said.

"It is the young chief!" the old woman exclaimed, and at once two figures
rose from a pile of straw in a dark corner of the room.

"Beric?"

"Yes, it is I," he said. "How fares it with you, Berenice? You are well,
Cneius, I hope? You have run no risks, I trust, since you have been
here?"

"We are well, Beric," the girl said; "but oh the time has seemed so long!
It is not yet a month since you sent us here, but it seems a year. She has
been very kind to us, and done all that she could, and the girls, her
daughters, have gone with me sometimes for rambles in the wood; but they
cannot speak our language. Not another person has been here since we
came."

"What is the news, Beric?" Cneius asked. "No word has reached us. The old
woman and her daughters have learned something, for the eldest girl goes away
sometimes for hours, and I can see that she tells her mother news when she
returns."

Beric briefly told them what had happened, at which Berenice exclaimed
passionately that the Britons were a wicked people.

"Then there will be a great battle when you meet Suetonius, Beric," Cneius
said. "How think you will it go?"

"It is hard to say," Beric replied; "we are more than one hundred and
fifty thousand men against ten thousand, but the ten thousand are soldiers,
while the hundred and fifty thousand are a mob. Brave and devoted, and
fearless of death I admit, but still a mob. I cannot say how it will go."

"How long shall we stay here, Beric?" Berenice asked. "When will you take
me to my father?"

"If we are beaten, Berenice, you will rejoin him speedily; if we
win—"

"He will not be alive," she broke in.

Beric did not contradict her, but went on, "I will see that you are placed
on board a ship and sent to Gaul; it is for this I come here today. Cneius,
in two or three days we shall meet Suetonius; if we win, I will return to you
myself, or if I am killed, Boduoc or his brother, both of whom I shall charge
with the mission, will come in my place and will escort you to the coast and
see that you are placed on board ship. If we lose, it is likely that none of
us will return. I shall give the old woman instructions that in that case her
daughter is to guide you through the forest and take you on until you meet
some Roman soldiers, or are within sight of their camp, then you will only
have to advance and declare yourself."

Then he turned and spoke for some time to Boduoc's mother in her own
language, thanking her for the shelter that she had given the fugitives, and
giving instructions as to the future. He took a hasty meal, and started at
once on his return journey in order to rejoin the Sarci as the army advanced
from London. Berenice wept bitterly when he said goodbye, and Cneius himself
was much affected.

"I view you almost as a son," he said; "and it is terrible to know that if
you win in the battle, my patron Caius and my countrymen will be destroyed,
while if they win, you may fall."

"It is the fortune of war, Cneius. You know that we Britons look forward
to death with joy; that, unlike you, we mourn at a birth and feast at a
burial, knowing that after death we go to the Happy Island where there is no
more trouble or sorrow, but where all is peace and happiness and content; so
do not grieve for me. You will know that if I fall I shall be happy, and
shall be free from all the troubles that await this unfortunate land."

VII. — DEFEAT OF THE BRITONS

LONDON was but a heap of ashes when Beric arrived there. It
had been a
trading place rather than a town. Here were no Roman houses or temples with
their massive stone work; it consisted only of a large collection of wooden
structures, inhabited by merchants and traders. It lay upon a knoll rising
above the low swampy ground covered by the sea at high water, for not till
long afterwards did the Romans erect the banks that dammed back the waters
and confined them within their regular channel. The opposite shore was
similarly covered with water at high tide, and forests extended as far as the
eye could reach. London, in fact, occupied what was at high water a
peninsula, connected with the mainland only by a shoulder extending back to
the hills beyond it, and separated by a deep channel on the west from a
similar promontory.

It was a position that, properly fortified by strong walls across the
isthmus, could have been held against a host, but the Romans had not as yet
taken it in hand; later, however, they recognized the importance of the
position, and made it one of the chief seats of their power. Even in the
three days that he had been absent Beric found that the host had considerably
increased. The tribes of Sussex and Kent, as they heard of the approach of
the army, had flocked in to join it, and to share in the plunder of
London.

Another day was spent in feasting and rejoicing, and then the army moved
northward. It consisted now of well nigh two hundred thousand fighting men,
and a vast crowd of women, with a huge train of wagons. Two days later, news
reached them of the spot where Suetonius had taken up his position and was
awaiting their attack, and the army at once pressed forward in that
direction. At nightfall they bivouacked two miles away from it, and Beric,
taking Boduoc with him, went forward to examine it. It was at a point where a
valley opened into the plain; the sides of the valley were steep and thickly
wooded, and it was only in front that an attack could well be delivered.

"What think you of it, Beric?" Boduoc asked.

"Suetonius relies upon our folly," Beric said; "he is sure that we shall
advance upon him as a tumultous mob, and as but a small portion can act at
once our numbers will count but little. The position would be a bad one had
we any skill or forethought. Were I commander tomorrow I should, before
advancing to the attack, send a great number round on either side to make
their way through the woods, and so to attack on both flanks, and to pour
down the valley in their rear, at the same time that the main body attacked
in the front. Then the position would be a fatal one; attacked in front and
rear and overwhelmed by darts from the woods on the flanks, their position
would be well nigh desperate, and not a man should escape."

"But we must overwhelm them," Boduoc said. "What can ten thousand men do
against a host like ours?"

"It may be so, Boduoc. Yet I feel by no means sure of it. At any rate we
must prepare for defeat as well as victory. If we are beaten the cause of
Britain will be lost. As we advance without order we shall fly without order,
and the tribes will disperse to their homes even more quickly than they have
gathered. Of one thing you may be sure, the Roman vengeance will be terrible.
We have brought disgrace and defeat upon them. We have destroyed their chief
cities. We have massacred tens of thousands. No mercy will be shown us, and
chiefly will their vengeance fall upon the Iceni. When we return to the camp,
go among the men and ask them whether they mean to fight tomorrow as they
fought Cerealis, or whether they will fight in the fashion of the rest. I
fear that, wild as all are with enthusiasm and the assurance of victory, they
will not consent to be kept in reserve, but will be eager to be in the front
of the attack. I will go with you, and will do my best to persuade them; but
if they insist on fighting in their own way, then we will go to them one by
one, and will form if we can a body, if only a hundred strong, to keep, and
if needs be, retreat together. In speed we can outrun the heavy armed Roman
soldiers with ease, but their cavalry will scour the plain. Keeping together,
however, we can repel these with our lances, and make good our escape. We
will first make for home, load ourselves with grain, and driving cattle
before us, and taking our women and children, make for the swamps that lie to
the northwest of our limits. There we can defend ourselves against the Romans
for any length of time."

"You speak as if defeat were certain," Boduoc said reproachfully.

"Not at all, Boduoc; a prudent man prepares for either fortune, it is only
the fool that looks upon one side only. I hope for victory, but I prepare for
defeat; those who like to return to their homes and remain there to be
slaughtered by the Romans, can do so. I intend to fight to the last."

Upon rejoining the Sarci, Beric called them together, and asked them
whether they wished on the following day to rush into the battle, or to
remain in solid order in reserve. The reply was, that they wished for their
share of glory, and that did they hold aloof until the battle was done and
the enemy annihilated they would be pointed out as men who had feared to take
their share in the combat. When the meeting had dispersed Beric and Boduoc
went among them; they said nothing about the advantage that holding together
would be in case of defeat, but pointed out the honour they had gained by
deciding the issue of the last battle, and begged them to remain in a solid
body, so that possibly they might again decide the battle. As to disgrace,
they had already shown how well they could fight, and that none could say
that fear had influenced their decision. Altogether two hundred agreed to
retain their ranks, and with this Beric was satisfied. He then went off to
find his mother, who was as usual with the queen. She would not hear of any
possibility of defeat.

"What!" she said. "Are Britons so poor and unmanly a race, that even when
twenty to one they cannot conquer a foe? I would not believe it of them."

"I don't expect it, mother, but it is best to be prepared for whatever may
happen." He then told her of the arrangements he had made.

"You may be right, Beric, in preparing for the worst, but I will take no
part in it. The queen has sworn she will not survive defeat, nor shall I. I
will not live to see my country bound in Roman chains. A free woman I have
lived, and a free woman I will die, and shall gladly quit this troubled life
for the shores of the Happy Island."

Beric was silent for a minute. "I do not seek to alter your determination,
mother, but as for myself, so long as I can lift a sword I shall continue to
struggle against the Romans. We shall not meet tomorrow; when the battle once
begins all will be confusion, and there would be no finding each other in
this vast crowd. If victory is ours, we shall meet afterwards; if defeat, I
shall make for Cardun, where, if you change your mind, I shall hope to meet
you, and then shall march with those who will for the swamps of Ely, where
doubtless large numbers of fugitives will gather, for unless the Romans drive
their causeways into its very heart they can scarce penetrate in any other
way."

So sure were the Britons of victory that no council was held that night.
There were the enemy, they had only to rush upon and destroy them. Returning
to his men, Beric met Aska.

"I have just been over to your camp to see you, Beric. I have talked with
Boduoc, who told me frankly that you did not share the general assurance of
an easy victory. Nor do I, after what I saw the other day—how we dashed
vainly against the Roman line. He tells me that your men, save a small party,
have determined to fight tomorrow in the front line with the rest, and I
lament over it."

"It would make no difference in the result," Beric said; "in so great a
mass as this we should be lost, and even if we could make our way to the
front, and fall upon the Romans in a solid body, our numbers are too small to
decide the issue; but at least we might, had the day gone against us, have
drawn off in good order."

"I will take my station with you," Aska said; "I have, as all the Iceni
know, been a great fighter in my time; but I will leave it to the younger men
tomorrow to win this battle. My authority may aid yours, and methinks that if
we win tomorrow, none can say that you were wrong to stand aloof from the
first charge, if Aska stood beside you."

Thanking the chief warmly for the promise, Beric returned to the Sarci.
Feasting was kept up all night, and at daybreak the Britons were on foot, and
forming in their tribes advanced within half a mile of the Roman position.
Then they halted, and Boadicea with her daughters and the chiefs moved along
their front exhorting them to great deeds, recalling to them the oppression
and tyranny of the Romans, and the indignity that they had inflicted upon her
and her daughters; and her addresses were answered by loud shouts from the
tribesmen. In the meantime the wagons had moved out and drew up in a vast
semicircle behind the troops, so as to enable the women who crowded them to
get a view of the victory. So great was the following that the wagons were
ranged four or five deep. Beric had drawn up the men who had agreed to fight
in order, in a solid mass in front of the tribe. He was nearly on the extreme
left of the British position. Aska had taken his place by his side. His
mother, as in her chariot she passed along behind Boadicea, waved her hand to
him, and then pointed towards the Romans.

"Look, Aska," he said presently; "do you see that deep line of wagons
forming all round us? In case of disaster they will block up the retreat. A
madness has seized our people. One would think that this was a strife of
gladiators at Rome rather than a battle between two nations. There will be no
retreat that way for us if disaster comes. We must make off between the horn
of the crescent and the Romans. It is there only we can draw off in a
body."

"That is so, Beric," the chief said; "but see! the queen has reached the
end of the lines, and waves her spear as a signal."

A thundering shout arose, mingled with the shrill cries of encouragement
from the women, and then like a torrent the Britons rushed to the attack in
confused masses, each tribe striving to be first to attack the Romans. The
Sarci from behind the company joined in the rush, and there was confusion in
the ranks, many of the men being carried away by the enthusiasm; but the
shouts and exhortations of Beric, Aska, and Boduoc steadied them again, and
in regular order they marched after the host. In five minutes the uproar of
battle swelled high in front. Beric marched up the valley until he arrived at
the rear of the great mass of men who were swarming in front of the Roman
line, each man striving to get to the front to hurl his dart and join in the
struggle. The Romans had drawn up twelve deep across the valley, the heavy
armed spearmen in front, the lighter troops behind, the latter replying with
their missiles to the storm of darts that the Britons poured upon them. With
desperate efforts the assailants strove to break through the hedge of spears;
their bravest flung themselves upon the Roman weapons and died there,
striving in vain to break the line.

For hours the fight continued, but the Roman wall remained unbroken and
immovable. Fresh combatants had taken the place of those in front until all
had exhausted their store of javelins. In vain the chiefs attempted to induce
their followers to gather thickly together and to make a rush; the din was
too great for their voices to be heard, and the tribesmen were half mad with
fury at the failure of their own efforts to break the Roman line. Beric
strove many times to bring up his company in a mass through the crowd to the
front. The pressure was too great, none would give way where all sought to
get near their foes, and rather than break them up he remained in the rear in
spite of the eager cries of the men to be allowed to break up and push their
way singly forward.

"What can you do alone," he shouted to them, "more than the others are
doing? Together and in order we might succeed, broken we should be useless.
If this huge army cannot break their line, what could two hundred men do?" At
last, as the storm of javelins began to dwindle, a mighty shout rose from the
Romans, and shoulder to shoulder with levelled spears they advanced, while
the flanks giving way, the cavalry burst out on both sides and fell upon the
Britons. For those in front, pressed by the mass behind them, there was no
falling back, they fell as they stood under the Roman spears. Stubbornly for
a time the tribesmen fought with sword and target; but as the line pressed
forward, and the horsemen cut their way through the struggling mass, a panic
began to seize them.

The tribes longest conquered by the Romans first gave way, and the
movement rapidly spread. Many for some time desperately opposed the advance
of the Romans, whose triumphant shouts rose loudly; but gradually these
melted away, and the vast crowd of warriors became a mob of fugitives, the
Romans pressing hotly with cries of victory and vengeance upon their rear.
Beric's little band was swept away like foam before the wave of fugitives.
For a time it attempted to stem the current; but when Beric saw that this was
in vain he shouted to his tribesmen to keep in a close body and to press
towards the left, which was comparatively free. Fortunately the Roman horse
had plunged in more towards the centre, and the ground was open for their
retreat.

Thousands of flying men were making towards the rear, but with a great
effort they succeeded in crossing the tide of fugitives, and in passing
through outside the semicircle of wagons. Here they halted for a moment while
Beric, climbing on the end wagon, surveyed the scene. There was no longer any
resistance among the Britons. The great semicircle within the line of wagons
was crowded by a throng of fugitives behind whom, at a run now, the Roman
legions were advancing, maintaining their order even at that rapid pace.
Outside the sweep of wagons women with cries of terror were flying in all
directions, and the horses, alarmed by the din, were plunging and struggling,
while their drivers vainly endeavoured to extricate them from the close line
of vehicles.

"All is lost for the present," he said to Aska, "let us make for the
north; it is useless to delay, men; to try to fight would be to throw away
our lives uselessly, we shall do more good by preserving them to fight upon
another day. Keep closely together, we shall have the Roman cavalry upon us
before long, and only by holding to our ranks can we hope to repel them."

Many of the women from the nearest wagons rushed in among the men, and,
placing them in their centre, the band went off at a steady trot, which they
could maintain for hours. The din behind was terrible, the shouts of the
Romans mingled with the cries of the Britons and the loud shrieks of women.
The plain was already thick with fugitives, consisting either of women from
the outside wagons or men who had made their way through the mass of
struggling animals. Here and there chariots were dashing across the plain at
full gallop. Looking back from a rise of the ground a mile from the
battlefield, they saw a few parties of the Roman horse scouring the plain;
but the main body were scattered round the confused mass by the wagons.

"There will be but few escape," Aska said, throwing up his arms in
despair; "the wagons have proved a death trap; had it not been for them the
army would have scattered all over the country, and though the Roman horse
might have cut down many, the greater number would have gained the woods and
escaped; but the wagons held them just as a thin line of men will hold the
wolves till the hunters arrive and hem them in."

The carts crowded with women, the plunging horses in lines three or four
deep had indeed checked the first fugitives; then came the others crowding in
upon them, and then before a gap wide enough to let them through could be
forced, the Roman horse were round and upon them.

The pause that Beric made had been momentary, and the band kept on at
their rapid pace until the woods were reached, and they were safe from
pursuit; then, as they halted, they gave way to their sorrow and anguish.
Some threw themselves down and lay motionless; others walked up and down with
wild gestures; some broke into imprecations against the gods who had deserted
them. Some called despairingly the names of wives and daughters who had been
among the spectators in that fatal line of wagons. The women sat in a group
weeping; none of them belonged to the Iceni, and their kinsfolk and friends
had, as they believed, all perished in the fight.

"Think you that the queen has fallen?" Aska asked Beric.

"She may have made her way out," Beric said; "we saw chariots driving
across the plain. She would be carried back by the first fugitives, and it
may be that they managed to clear a way through the wagons for her and those
with her. If she is alive, doubtless my mother is by her side."

"If the queen has escaped," Aska said, "it will be but to die by her own
hand instead of by that of the Romans. I am sure that she will not survive
this day. There is nothing else left for her, her tribe is destroyed, her
country lost, herself insulted and humiliated. Boadicea would never demand
her life from the Romans."

"My mother will certainly die with her," Beric said, "and I should say
that all her party will willingly share her fate. For the chiefs and leaders
there will be no mercy, and for a time doubtless all will be slaughtered who
fall into the Roman hands; but after a time the sword will be stayed, for the
land will be useless to them without men to cultivate it, and when the Roman
hands are tired of slaying, policy will prevail. It were best to speak to the
men, Aska, for us to be moving on; will you address them?"

The old chief moved towards the men, and raising his hand, called them to
him. At first but few obeyed the summons, but as he proceeded they roused
themselves and gathered round him, for his reputation in the tribe was great,
and the assured tone in which he spoke revived their spirits.

"Men of the Sarci," he said, "this is no time for wailing or lamentation;
the gods of Britain have deserted us, but of this terrible day's defeat none
of the disgrace rests upon you. The honour of the victories we won was yours,
and though but a small subtribe, the name of the Sarci rang through Britain
as that of the bravest in the land. Had all of your tribe obeyed their young
chief and fought together today as they have fought before, it may be that
the defeat would have been averted; but you stood firmly by him when the
others fell away, and you stand here without the loss of a man, safe in the
forest and ready to meet the Roman again. You are fortunate in having such a
leader. I may tell you that had his counsel prevailed you would not now be
mourning a defeat. I, an old chief with long years of experience, believed
what he said, young though he is, and saw that to fight in a confused
multitude on such a field was to court almost certain defeat.

"Thus then I placed myself by his side, relying upon his skill in arms and
your bravery, and throwing my fortune in with yours. I was not mistaken. Had
you not firmly kept together and followed his instructions you too would have
been inclosed in that vast throng of fugitives hemmed in among the wagons,
slaughtered by the Roman footmen in their rear and cut down by their horse if
they broke through the line of wagons. You may ask what is there to live for;
you may say that the cause of Britain is lost, that your tribe is well nigh
destroyed, that many of you have lost your wives and families as well. All
this is true, but yet, men, all is not lost. Great as may have been the
slaughter, large numbers must have escaped, and many of you have still wives
and families at home. Before aught else is thought of these must be taken to
a place of safety until the first outburst of Roman vengeance has passed.

"Had Beric been the sole leader of the Britons from the first there would
be no need of fearing their vengeance, for in that case none of their women
and children would have been slain, and they would be now in our hands as
hostages; but that is past. I say it only to show you how wise and far seeing
as well as how brave a leader in battle is this young chief of yours. While
all others were dreaming only of an easy victory over the Romans he and I
have been preparing for what had best be done in case of defeat. To return to
your homes would be but to court death, and if we are to die at the hands of
the Romans it is best that we should die fighting them to the end. We have
therefore arranged that we will seek a refuge in the Fen country that forms
the western boundary of the land of the Iceni; there we can find strongholds
into which the Romans can never force their way; thence we can sally out, and
in turn take vengeance. There will rally round you hundreds of other brave
men till we grow to a force that may again make head against the Romans.
There at least we shall live as free men and die as free men."

A shout of approval broke from the men.

"You need not starve," Aska went on. "The rivers abound with fish and the
swamps with waterfowl. There are islands among the swamps where the land is
dry, and we can construct huts. Three days since, when he foresaw that it
might be that a refuge would be needed, Beric despatched a messenger home
with orders that a herd of three hundred cattle and another of as many swine
should be driven to the spot near the swamps for which we propose to make,
and they will there be found awaiting you."

There was again a chorus of approval, and one of the men stepping forward
said, "Beric is young, but he is a great chief. We will follow him wherever
he will take us, and will swear to be faithful and obedient to him." Every
man raised his right arm towards the sky, and with a loud shout swore to be
faithful to Beric.

"You are right," Aska said. "It is of no use to obey a chief only when
ranged in battle; it is that which has ruined our country. There is nothing
slavish in recognizing that one man must rule, and in obeying when obedience
is necessary for the sake of all. As one body led by one mind you may do
much; as two hundred men swayed by two hundred minds you will do nothing. I
shall be with Beric, and my experience may be of aid to him. And if I, a
chief of high standing among the Iceni, am well content to recognize in him
the leader of our party, you may well do the same. Now, Beric, step forward
and say what is next to be done."

"I thank you," Beric said when the shout of acclamation that greeted him
when he stepped forward had subsided, "for the oath you have sworn to be
faithful to me. I pretend not to more wisdom than others, and feel that in
the presence of one so full of years and experience as Aska it is a
presumption for one of my age to give an opinion; but in one respect I know
that I am more fitted than others to lead you. I have studied the records of
the Romans, of their wars with the Gauls and other peoples, and I know that
their greatest trouble was not in defeating armies in the field but of
overcoming the resistance of those who took refuge in fastnesses and harassed
them continually by sorties and attacks. I know where the Romans are strong
and where they are weak; and it is by the aid of such knowledge that I hope
that we may long retain our freedom, and may even in time become so
formidable that we may be able to win terms not only for ourselves but for
our countrymen.

"The first step is to gather at our place of refuge those belonging to us.
Therefore do you choose among yourselves twenty swift runners and send them
to our villages, bidding the wives and families of all here to leave their
homes at once, taking only such gear as they can carry lightly, and to make
with all speed for Soto, a village in the district of the Baci, and but a
mile or two from the edge of the great swamp country. It is there that the
herds have been driven, and there they will find a party ready to escort
them. Let all the other women and children be advised to quit their homes
also, and to travel north together with the old men and boys. Bid the latter
drive the herds before them. It may be months before they can return to their
homes. It were best that they should pass altogether beyond the district of
our people, for it is upon the Iceni that the vengeance of the Romans will
chiefly fall. By presents of cattle they can purchase an asylum among the
Brigantes, and had best remain there till they hear that Roman vengeance is
satisfied.

"Let them as they journey north advise all the people in our villages to
follow their example. Let those who will not do this take shelter in the
hearts of the forests. To our own people my orders are distinct: no herd,
either of cattle or swine, is to be left behind. Let the Romans find a desert
where they can gather no food; let the houses be burnt, together with all
crops that have been gathered. Warn all that there must be no delay. Let the
boys and old men start within five minutes from the time that you deliver my
message, to gather the herds and drive them north. Let the women call their
children round them, take up their babes, make a bundle of their garments,
and pile upon a wagon cooking pots and such things as are most needed, and
then set fire to their houses and stacks and granaries and go. Warn them that
even the delay of an hour may be fatal, for that the Roman cavalry will be
spreading like a river in flood over the country. Beg them to leave the
beaten tracks and journey through the woods, both those who go north and
those who will meet us at Soto. Quick! choose the messengers; and such of you
as choose had best hand to the one who is bound for his village a ring or a
bracelet, or some token that your wives will recognize, so that they may know
that the order comes from you."

Twenty young men were at once chosen, and Boduoc and two of the older men
divided the district of the Sarci among them, allotting to each the hamlets
they should visit. As soon as this was decided the rest of the band gave the
messengers their tokens to their families, and then the runners started at a
trot which they could maintain for many hours. The rest of the band then
struck off in the direction in which they were bound. With only an occasional
half hour for food and a few hours at night for sleep they pressed northward.
Fast as they went the news of the disaster had preceded them, carried by
fugitives from the battle.

At each hamlet through which they passed, Aska repeated the advice that
had been sent to the Iceni. "Abandon your homes, drive the swine and the
cattle before you, take to the forests, journey far north, and seek refuge
among the Brigantes. A rallying place for fighting men will be found at Soto,
on the edge of the great swamps; let all who can bear arms and love freedom
better than servitude or death gather there."

Upon the march swine were taken and killed for food without hesitation.
Many were found straying in the woods untended, the herdsmen having fled in
dismay when the news of the defeat reached them. As yet the full extent of
the disaster was unknown. Some of the fugitives had reported that scarce a
man had escaped; but the very number of fugitives who had preceded the band
showed that this was an exaggeration. But it was not until long afterwards
that the truth was known. Of the great multitude, estimated at two hundred
and thirty thousand, fully a third had fallen, among whom were almost all the
women and children whose presence on the battlefield had proved so fatal, and
of whom scarce one had been able to escape; for the Romans, infuriated by the
massacres at Camalodunum, Verulamium, and London had spared neither age nor
sex.

On their arrival at Soto they obtained for the first time news of the
queen. A chief of one of the northern subtribes of the Iceni had driven
through on his chariot and had told the headman of the hamlet that he had
been one of the few who had accompanied Boadicea in her flight.

At the call of the queen, he said, the men threw themselves on the line of
wagons in such number and force that a breach was made through them, horses
and wagons being overthrown and dragged bodily aside. The chariot with the
queen and her two daughters passed through, with four others containing the
ladies who accompanied her. Three or four chiefs also passed through in their
chariots, and then the breach was filled by the struggling multitude, that
poured out like a torrent. The chariots were well away before the Roman horse
swept round the wagons, and travelled without pursuit to a forest twenty
miles away. As soon as they reached this the queen ordered the charioteers to
dig graves, and then calling upon the god of her country to avenge her, she
and her daughters and the ladies with them had all drunk poison, brewed from
berries that they gathered in the wood. The chiefs would have done so also,
but the queen forbade them.

"It is for you," she said, "to look after your people, and to wage war
with Rome to the last. We need but two men to lay us in our graves and spread
the sods over us; so that after death at least we shall be safe from further
dishonour at the hands of the Romans."

When they had drunk the poison the men were ordered to leave them for an
hour and then to return. When they did so the ladies were all dead, lying in
a circle round Boadicea. They were buried in the shallow holes that had been
dug, the turf replaced, and dead leaves scattered over the spot, so that no
Roman should ever know where the queen of the Iceni and her daughters
slept.

Although Beric had given up all hope of again seeing his mother alive, the
news of her death was a terrible blow to him, and he wept unrestrainedly
until Aska placed a hand on his shoulder. "You must not give way to sorrow,
Beric. You have her people to look to. She has gone to the Green Island,
where she will dwell in happiness, and where your father has been long
expecting her. It is not at a death that we Britons weep, knowing as we do
that those that have gone are to be envied. Arouse yourself! there is much to
be done. The cattle will probably be here in the morning. We have to question
the people here as to the great swamps, and get them to send to the Fen
people for guides who will lead us across the marshes to some spot where we
can dwell above the level of the highest waters."

Beric put aside his private grief for the time, and several of the natives
of the village who were accustomed to penetrate the swamps in search of game
were collected and questioned as to the country. None, however, could give
much useful information. There was a large river that ran through it, with
innumerable smaller streams that wandered here and there. None had penetrated
far beyond the margin, partly because they were afraid of losing their way,
partly because of the enmity of the Fen people.

These were of a different race to themselves, and were a remnant of those
whom the Iceni had driven out of their country, and who, instead of going
west, had taken refuge in the swamps, whither the invaders had neither the
power nor inclination to follow them.

"It is strange," Aska said, "that just as they fled before us centuries
ago, so we have now to fly before the Romans. Still, as they have maintained
themselves there, so may we. But it will be necessary that we should try and
secure the goodwill of these people and assure them that we do not come among
them as foes."

"There is no quarrel between us now," the headman of the hamlet said.
"There has not been for many generations. They know that we do not seek to
molest them, while they are not strong enough to molest us. There is trade
between all the hamlets near the swamps and their people; they bring fish and
wildfowl, and baskets which they weave out of rushes, and sell to us in
exchange for woven cloth, for garments, and sometimes for swine which they
keep upon some of their islands.

"It is always they who come to us, we go not to them. They are jealous of
our entering their country, and men who go too far in search of game have
often been shot at by invisible foes. They take care that their arrows don't
strike, but shoot only as a warning that we must go no farther. Sometimes
some foolhardy men have declared that they will go where they like in spite
of the Fenmen, and they have gone, but they have never returned. When we have
asked the men who come in to trade what has become of them they say 'they do
not know, most likely they had lost their way and died miserably, or fallen
into a swamp and perished there;' and as the men have certainly lost their
lives through their own obstinacy nothing can be done."

"Then some of these men speak our tongue, I suppose?" Aska said.

"Yes, the men who come are generally the same, and these mostly speak a
little of our language. From time to time some of our maidens have taken a
fancy to these Fenmen, and in spite of all their friends could do have gone
off. None of these have ever returned, though messages have been brought
saying they were well. We think that the men who do the trading are the
children of women who went to live among them years ago."

"Then it is through one of these men that we must open communications with
them," Aska said.

"Some of them are here almost daily. No one has been today, and therefore
we may expect one tomorrow morning. This is one of the chief places of trade
with them. The women of the hamlets round bring here the cloth they have
woven to exchange it for their goods, others from beyond them do the same, so
that from all this part of the district goods are brought in here, while the
fish and baskets of the Fenmen go far and wide."

VIII. — THE GREAT SWAMPS

SOON after daybreak next morning the headman came into the
hut he had
placed at the disposal of Aska and Beric with news that two of the Fenmen had
arrived. They at once went out and found that the two men had just laid down
their loads, which were so heavy that Beric wondered they could possibly have
been carried by them. One had brought fish, the other wildfowl, slung on
poles over their shoulders. These men were much shorter than the Iceni, they
were swarthier in complexion, and their hair was long and matted. Their only
clothing was short kilts made of the materials for which they bartered their
game.

"They both speak the language well," the headman said, "I will tell them
what you want."

The men listened to the statement that the chiefs before them desired to
find with their followers a refuge in the Fens, and that they were willing to
make presents to the Fenmen of cattle and other things, so that there should
be friendship between them, and that they should be allowed to occupy some
island in the swamps where they might live secure from pursuit. The men
looked at each other as the headman began to speak, shaking their heads as if
they thought the proposal impossible.

"We will tell our people," they said, "but we do not think that they will
agree; we have dwelt alone for long years without trouble with others. The
coming of strangers will bring trouble. Why do they seek to leave their
land?"

"Our people have been beaten in battle by the Romans," Aska said, taking
up the conversation, "and we need a refuge till the troubles are over."

"The Romans have won!" one of the men exclaimed in a tone that showed he
was no stranger to what was going on beyond the circle of the Fens.

"They have won," Aska repeated, "and there will be many fugitives who will
seek for shelter in the Fens. We would fain be friends with your people, but
shelter we must have. Our cause after all is the same, for when the Romans
have destroyed the Iceni, and conquered all the countries round, they will
hunt you down also, for they let none remain free in the lands where they are
masters. The Fen country is wide, there must be room for great numbers to
shelter, and surely there must be places where we could live without
disturbance to your people."

"There is room," the man said briefly. "We will take your message to our
people, our chiefs will decide."

Aska and Beric wore few other ornaments than those denoting their position
and authority. Many of their followers, however, had jewels and bracelets,
the spoil of the Roman towns. Beric left the group and spoke to Boduoc, who
in two or three minutes returned with several rings and bracelets.

"You could have a score for every one of these," he said; "they are of no
value to the men now, and indeed their possession would bring certain death
upon any one wearing them did he fall into the hands of the Romans."

Beric returned to the Fenmen. "Here," he said, "are some presents for your
chiefs, tell them that we have many more like them."

The men took them with an air of indifference.

"They are of no use," they said, "though they may please women. If you
want to please men you should give them hatchets and arms."

"We will do that," Aska said, "we have more than we require;" for indeed
after the battle with Cerealis and the sack of the towns all the men had
taken Roman swords and carried them in addition to their own weapons,
regarding them not only as trophies but as infinitely superior to their own
more clumsy implements for cutting wood and other purposes. At a word from
Beric four of these were brought and handed to the men, who took them with
lively satisfaction.

"Could you take us with you to see your chiefs?" Beric asked.

They shook their heads. "No strangers can enter the swamps; but the chiefs
will come to see you."

"It is very urgent that no time shall be lost," Beric said, "the Romans
may be here very shortly."

"By the time the sun is at its highest the chiefs will be here or we will
bring you an answer," they said. "Come with us now, we will show you where to
expect them, for they will not leave the edge of our land."

After half an hour's walking through a swampy soil they arrived at the
edge of a sluggish stream of water. Here tied to a bush was a boat
constructed of basket work covered with hide. In it lay two long poles. The
men took their places in the coracle, pushed out into the stream, and using
their poles vigorously were soon lost to sight among the thick grove of rush
and bushes. Aska and Beric returned to the hamlet.

"Have you any idea of the number of these people?" they asked the
headman.

"No," he said, "no one has any idea; the swamps are of a vast extent from
here away to the north. We know that long ago when the Iceni endeavoured to
penetrate there they were fiercely attacked by great numbers, and most of
those who entered perished miserably, but for ages now there has been no
trouble. The land was large enough for us, why should we fight to conquer
swamps which would be useless to us? We believe that there are large numbers,
although they have, from the nature of the country, little dealings with each
other; but live scattered in twos and threes over their country, since,
living by fishing and fowling, they would not care to dwell in large
communities. They never talk much about themselves, but I have heard that
they say that parts of the swamps are inhabited by strange monsters, huge
serpents and other creatures, and that into these none dare penetrate."

"All the better," Beric said; "we are not afraid of monsters of any kind,
and they might therefore let us settle in one of these neighbourhoods where
we could clear out these enemies of theirs for them. It strikes me that our
greatest difficulty will be to get our cattle across the morasses to firm
ground. We shall have to contrive some plan for doing so. It will be no easy
matter to feed so large a number as we shall be on fish and wildfowl."

At noon the two chiefs returned to the spot where the men had left them,
taking with them Boduoc and another of their followers. A few minutes after
they arrived there they heard sounds approaching, and in a short time four
boats similar to those they had seen, and each carrying two men in addition
to those poling, made their way one after another through the bushes that
nearly met across the stream. Most of the men were dressed like the two who
had visited the village, but three of them were in attire somewhat similar to
that of the Iceni. These were evidently the chiefs. Several of the men were
much shorter and darker than those they had first seen, while the chiefs were
about the same stature. All carried short bows and quivers of light arrows,
and spears with the points hardened in the fire, for the Iceni living near
the swamps had been strictly forbidden to trade in arms or metal implements
with the Fenmen. The chiefs, however, all carried swords of Iceni make.
Before the chiefs stepped ashore their followers landed, and at once, to the
surprise of Beric, scattered among the bushes. In two or three minutes they
returned and said something in their own language to their chiefs, who then
stepped ashore.

"They were afraid of an ambush," Aska muttered, "and have satisfied
themselves that no one is hidden near."

The chiefs were all able to speak the language of the Iceni, and a long
conversation ensued between them and Beric. They protested at first that it
was impossible for them to grant the request made; that for long ages no
stranger had penetrated the swamps, and that although the intention of those
who addressed them might be friendly, such might not always be the case, and
that when the secrets of the paths and ways were once known they would never
be free from danger of attack by their neighbours.

"There is more room to the north," they said; "the Fen country is far
wider there, there is room for you all, while here the dry lands are occupied
by us, and there is no room for so many strangers. We wish you well; we have
no quarrel with you. Ages have passed now since you drove our forefathers
from the land; that is all forgotten. But as we have lived so long, so will
we continue. We have no wants; we have fish and fowl in abundance, and what
more we require we obtain in barter from you."

"Swords like those we sent you are useful," Aska said. "They are made by
the Romans, and are vastly better than any we have. With one of those you
might chop down as many saplings in a day as would build a hut, and could
destroy any wild beasts that may lurk in your swamps. The people who are
coming now are not like us. We were content with the land we had taken, and
you dwelt among us undisturbed for ages; but the Romans are not like us, they
want to possess the whole earth, and when they have overrun our country they
will never rest content till they have hunted you out also. There are
thousands of us who will seek refuge in your swamps. You may oppose us, you
may kill numbers of us, but in the end, step by step, we shall find our way
in till we reach an island of firm land where we can establish ourselves. It
is not that we have any ill will towards you, or that we covet your land, but
with the Romans behind us, slaying all they encounter, we shall have no
choice but to go forward.

"It will be for your benefit as well as ours. Alone what could you do
against men who fight with metal over their heads and bodies that your arrows
could not penetrate, and with swords and darts that would cut and pierce you
through and through? But with us—who have met and fought them in fair
battle, and have once even defeated them with great slaughter—to help
you to guard your swamps, it would be different, and even the Romans, brave
as they are, would hesitate before they tried to penetrate your land of mud
and water. Surely there must be some spots in your morasses that are still
uninhabited. I have heard that there are places that are avoided because
great serpents and other creatures live there, but so long as the land is dry
enough for our cattle to live and for us to dwell we are ready to meet any
living thing that may inhabit it."

The chiefs looked awestruck at this offer on the part of the strangers,
and then entered into an animated conversation together.

"The matter is settled," Aska said in a low voice to Beric. "There are
places they are afraid to penetrate, and I expect that, much as they object
to our entering their country, they would rather have us as neighbours than
these creatures that they are so much afraid of."

When the chiefs' consultation was finished, the one who had before spoken
turned to them and said: "What will you give if we take you to such a
place?"

"How far distant is it?" Aska asked.

"It is two days' journey from here," the chief said. "The distance is not
great, but the channels are winding and difficult. There is land many feet
above the water, but how large I cannot say. Three miles to the west from
here is the great river you call the Ouse, it is on the other side of that
where we dwell. None of us live on this side of that river. Three hours' walk
north from here is a smaller river that runs into the great one. At the point
where the two rivers join you will cross the Ouse, and then journey west in
boats for a day; that will take you near the land we speak of."

"But how are we to get the boats? We have no time to make them."

"We will take you in our boats. This man," and he pointed to one of those
who had been with them in the morning, "will go with you as a guide through
the swamps to the river to the north. There we will meet you with twenty
boats, and will take a party to the spot we speak of. Then we will sell you
the boats—we can build more—and you can take the rest of your
party over as you like. What will you give us?"

"We will give you twenty swords like those I sent you, and twenty
spearheads, and a hundred copper arrowheads, and twenty cattle."

The chiefs consulted together. "We want grain and we want skins," their
spokesman said. "We have need of much grain, for if the Romans take your land
and kill your people, where shall we buy grain? And we want skins, for it
takes two skins to make a boat, and we shall have to build twenty to take the
place of those we give you."

"We can give the skins," Aska said, after a consultation with Beric; "and
I doubt not we can give grain. How much do you require?"

"Five boat loads filled to the brim."

"To all your other terms we agree," Aska said; "and you shall have as much
grain as we can obtain. If we fall short of that quantity we will give for
each boat load that is wanting three swords, six spearheads, and ten
arrowheads."

The bargain was closed. The Fenmen had come resolved not to allow the
strangers to enter their land, but their offer to occupy any spot, even if
tenanted by savage beasts, entirely changed the position. In the recesses of
the swamps to the east of the Ouse lay a tract of country which they avoided
with a superstitious fear. In the memory of man none had dared to approach
that region, for there was a tradition among them that, when they had first
fled from the Iceni, a large party had penetrated there, and of these but a
few returned, with tales of the destruction of their companions by huge
serpents, and monsters of strange shapes, some of which were clothed in
armour impenetrable to their heaviest weapons. From that time the spot had
been avoided. Legends had multiplied concerning the creatures that dwelt
there, and it now seemed to the chiefs that they must be gainers in any case
by the bargain.

If the monsters conquered and devoured the Iceni, as no doubt they would
do, they would be well rid of them. If the Iceni destroyed the monsters a
large tract of country now closed would be open for fishing and fowling. They
therefore accepted, without further difficulty, the terms the strangers
offered. It was, moreover, agreed that any further parties of Iceni should be
free to join the first comers without hindrance, and that guides should be
furnished to all who might come to the borders of the swamps to join their
countrymen. They were to act in concert in case of any attack by the Romans,
binding themselves to assist each other to the utmost of their powers.

"But how are we to convey our cattle over?" Beric asked.

The native shook his head. "It is too far for them to swim, and the ground
in most places is a swamp, in which they would sink."

"That must be an after matter, Beric," Aska said. "We will talk that over
after we have arrived. Evidently we can do nothing now. The great thing is to
get to this place they speak of, and to prepare it to receive the women and
other fugitives. When will you have the boats at the place you name?"

"Three hours after daylight tomorrow."

"We will be there. You shall receive half the payments we have agreed upon
before we start, the rest shall be paid you when you return with the boats
and hand them over for the second detachment to go."

The native nodded, and at once he and his companions took their places in
their coracles, leaving the native who was to act as guide behind them.

"They are undersized little wretches," Boduoc said, as they started for
the village; "no wonder that our forefathers swept them out of the land
without any difficulty. But they are active and sturdy, and, knowing their
swamps as they do, could harass an invader terribly. I don't think that at
present they like our going into their country, but they will be glad enough
of our aid if the Romans come."

When they reached the village they found that the herds had just arrived.
The headman was surprised when they told him that the Fenmen had agreed to
allow them a shelter in the swamps, and he and eight or ten men who had
straggled in since Beric's party arrived, expressed their desire to accompany
the party with their families. Other women in the village would likewise have
gone, but Aska pointed out to them that they had better go north and take
shelter among the Brigantes, as all the women of his tribe had done, except
those whose men were with them.

"You will be better off there than among the swamps, and we cannot feed
unnecessary mouths; nor have we means of transporting you there. We, too,
would shelter in the woods, were it not that we mean to harass the Romans, so
we need a place where they cannot find us. But as you go spread the news that
Aska has sought refuge in the swamps with two hundred fighting Sarci, and
that all capable of bearing arms who choose to join them can do so. They must
come to the junction of the two rivers, and there they will hear of us."

As the villagers were unable to take away with them their stores of grain,
they disposed of them readily to Beric in exchange for gold ornaments, with
which they could purchase cattle or such things as they required from the
Brigantes; they also resigned all property in their swine and cattle, which
were to be left in the woods, to be fetched as required. Aska and Beric
having made these arrangements, sat down to discuss what had best be done, as
the twenty boats would only carry sixty, and would be away for two days
before they returned for the second party. Boduoc was called into the
council, and after some discussion it was agreed that the best plan would be
for the whole party to go down together to the junction of the rivers, each
taking as large a burden of grain as he could carry, and driving their cattle
before them.

They heard from the headman that the whole country near the river was
densely covered with bushes, and that the ground was swampy and very
difficult to cross. They agreed, therefore, that they would form a strong
intrenchment at the spot where they were to embark. It was unlikely in the
extreme that the Romans would seek to penetrate such a country, but if they
did they were to be opposed as soon as they entered the swamps, and a
desperate stand was to be made at the intrenchment, which would be
approachable at one or two points only. Six men were to be left at the
village to receive the women and children when they arrived. The guide was to
return as soon as he had led the main party to the point where the boats were
to meet them, and to lead the second party to the same point.

That evening, indeed, the women began to arrive, and said that they
believed all would be in on the following day. Among them was Boduoc's
mother, who told Beric that her eldest daughter had started with Berenice and
Cneius to meet the Romans as soon as the news of the defeat reached them.
When day broke, Beric's command, with the women who had arrived, set off
laden with as much grain in baskets or cloths as they could carry, and
driving the cattle and pigs before them. The country soon became swampy, but
their guide knew the ground well, and by a winding path led them dry footed
through the bushes, though they could see water among the roots and grass on
either side of them. They had, however, great difficulty with the cattle and
pigs, but after several attempts to break away, and being nearly lost in the
swamps, from which many of them had to be dragged out by sheer force, the
whole reached the river. The men of the rear guard in charge of the main body
of the swine and cattle did not arrive there until midday.

The spot to which the guide led them was on the river flowing east and
west, a mile from its junction with the main stream, as he told them that the
swamps were too deep near the junction of the river for them to penetrate
there.

Some of the boats were already at the spot. When they reached it Aska and
Beric at once began to mark out a semicircle, with a radius of some fifty
yards, on the river bank. Ten of the cattle were killed and skinned, and as
others of the party came up they were set to work to cut down the trees and
undergrowth within the semicircle, and drag them to its edge, casting them
down with their heads outwards so as to form a formidable abbatis. Within
half an hour of the appointed time the twenty boats had arrived together with
as many more, in which the grain, hides, and other articles agreed to be paid
were to be carried off. Three of the cattle were cut up, and their flesh
divided among the twenty boats, in which a quantity of grain was also placed.
The seven remaining carcasses were for the use of the camp, the ten hides,
half the grain, swords, spears, and arrowheads agreed upon, were handed over
to the natives, and Beric, as an extra gift, presented each of the three
chiefs who had come with the boats with one of the Roman shields, picked up
on the field of battle.

The chiefs were greatly pleased with the present, and showed more goodwill
than they had exhibited at their first interview. Aska had arranged with
Beric to remain behind in charge of the encampment. As soon, therefore, as
the presents had been handed over, Beric with Boduoc and three men to each
boat took their places and pushed from shore. The boats of the Fenmen put off
at the same time, and the natives, of whom there was one in each of Beric's
boats, poled their way down the sluggish stream until they reached a wide
river. The chiefs here shouted an adieu and directed their course up the
river, while Beric's party crossed, proceeded down it for two miles, and then
turned up a narrow stream running into it. All day they made their way along
its windings; other streams came in on either side or quitted it; and,
indeed, for some hours they appeared to be traversing a network of water from
which rose trees and bushes. The native in Beric's boat, which led, could
speak the language of the Iceni, and he explained to Beric that the waters
were now high, but that when they subsided the land appeared above them,
except in the course of the streams.

"It is always wet and swampy," he said; "and men cannot traverse this part
on foot except by means of flat boards fastened to the feet by loops of
leather; this prevents them from sinking deeply in."

Late in the afternoon the country became drier, and the land showed itself
above the level of the water. The native now showed signs of much
perturbation, stopping frequently and listening.

"I have come much farther now," he said, "than I have ever been before,
and I dare not have ventured so far were it not that these floods would have
driven everything back; but I know from an old man who once ventured to push
farther, that this is the beginning of rising ground, and that in a short
time you will find it dry enough to land. I advise you to call the other
boats up so that in case of danger you can support each other."

The stream they were following was now very narrow, the branches of the
trees meeting overhead.

"Can any of the other Fenmen in the boats speak our language?" Beric
asked.

The man replied in the negative.

"That is good," he said; "I don't want my men to be frightened with
stories about monsters. I don't believe in them myself, though I do not say
that in the old time monsters may not have dwelt here. If anything comes we
shall know how to fight it; but it is gloomy and dark enough here to make men
uncomfortable without anything else to shake their courage."

At last they reached a spot where the bank was two feet above the water,
and they could see that it rose further inland. Several of the other Fenmen
had been shouting for some time to Beric's boatmen, and their craft had been
lagging behind. Beric therefore thought it well to land at once. The boats
were accordingly called up, the meat and grain landed, and the men leapt
ashore, the boatmen instantly poling their crafts down stream at their utmost
speed.

"We will go no farther tonight," Beric said; "but choose a comfortable
spot and make a fire. It will be time enough in the morning to explore this
place and fix on a spot for a permanent encampment."

A place was soon chosen and cleared of bushes. The men in several of the
boats had at starting brought brands with them from the fires. These were
carried across each other so as to keep the fire in, and eight or ten of
these brands being laid together in the heart of the brushwood and fanned
vigorously a bright flame soon shot up. The men's spirits had sunk as they
passed through the wild expanse of swamp and water, but they rose now as the
fire burned up. Meat was speedily frying in the flames, and this was eaten as
soon as it was cooked, nothing being done with the grain, which they had no
means of pounding. They had also brought with them several jars of beer from
the village, and these were passed round after they had eaten their fill of
meat.

"We will place four sentries," Beric said, "there may well be wolves or
other wild beasts in these swamps."

After supper was over Boduoc questioned Beric privately as to the monsters
of which their boatman had spoken.

"It is folly," Beric said. "You know that we have legends among ourselves,
which we learned from the natives who were here before we came, that at one
time strange creatures wandered over the country; but if there were such
creatures they died long ago. These Fenmen have a story among themselves that
such beasts lived in the heart of the swamp here when they first fled before
us. It is quite possible that this is true, for although they died ages ago
on the land they may have existed long afterwards among the swamps where
there were none to disturb them. I have read in some of the Roman writers
that there are creatures protected by a coat of scales in a country named
Egypt, and that they live hundreds of years. Possibly these creatures, which
the legends say were a sort of Dragon, may have lingered here, but as they do
not seem to have shown themselves to the Fenmen since their first arrival
here, it is not at all likely that there are any of them left; if there are
we shall have to do battle with them."

"Do you think they will be very formidable, Beric?"

"I do not suppose so. They might be formidable to one man, but not to
sixty well armed as we are; but I have not any belief that we shall meet with
them."

The night passed quite quietly, and in the morning the band set out to
explore the country. It rose gradually until they were, as Beric judged, from
forty to fifty feet above the level of the swamp. Large trees grew here, and
the soil was perfectly dry. The ground on the summit was level for about a
quarter of a mile, and then gradually sank again. A mile farther they were
again at the edge of a swamp.

"Nothing could have suited us better," Beric said. "At the top we can form
an encampment which will hold ten thousand men, and there is dry ground a
mile all round for the cattle and swine."

Presently there was a shout from some men who had wandered away, and
Beric, bidding others follow, ran to the spot. They found men standing
looking in wonder at a great number of bones lying in what seemed a confused
mass.

"Here is your monster," Beric said; "they are snake bones." This was
evident to all, and exclamations of wonder broke from them at their enormous
size. One man got hold of a pair of ribs, and placing them upright they came
up to his chin. The men looked apprehensively round.

"You need not be afraid," Beric said. "The creature has probably been dead
hundreds of years. You see his skin is all decayed away, and it must have
been thick and tough indeed. By the way the bones are piled together, he must
have curled up here to die. He was probably the last of his race. However, we
will search the island thoroughly, keeping together in readiness to encounter
anything that we may alight upon."

Great numbers of snakes were found, but none of any extraordinary
size.

"No doubt they fled here in the rains," Beric said, "when the water rose
and covered the swamps; we shall not be troubled with them when the morasses
dry. Anyhow they are quite harmless, and save that they may kill a chicken or
two when we get some, they will give us no trouble. The swine will soon clear
them off."

It was late in the day before the search was completed, and they then
returned to the camping ground of the night before, quite assured that there
was no creature of any size upon the island. Just as evening was falling on
the following day they heard shouts.

"Are you alive?" a voice, which Beric recognized as that of his boatman,
shouted.

"Yes," he exclaimed, "alive and well. There is nothing to be afraid of
here."

A few minutes later the twenty boats again came up. The Fenmen this time
ventured to land, but Beric's boatman questioned him anxiously about the
monsters. Beric, who thought it as well to maintain the evil reputation of
the place, told him that they had searched the island and had found no living
monsters, but had come across a dead serpent, who must have been seventy or
eighty feet long.

"There are no more of them here," he said, "but of course there may be
others that have been alarmed at the noises we made and have taken to the
swamps. This creature has been dead for a long time, and may have been the
last of his race. However, if one were to come we should not be afraid of it
with a hundred and twenty fighting men here."

The Fenmen, after a consultation among themselves, agreed that it would be
safer to pass the night with the Iceni than to start in the darkness among
the swamps. When they left in the morning Beric sent a message to Aska
describing the place, and begging him to send up some of the women with the
next party with means of grinding the grain. As soon as the boats were
started Beric led the party up to the top of the rise, and then work was
begun in earnest, and in a couple of days a large number of huts were
constructed of saplings and brushwood cleared off from the centre of the
encampment. Some women arrived with the next boat loads, and at once took the
preparation of food into their hands. Aska sent a message saying that the
numbers at his camp were undiminished, as most of the fighting men belonging
to the villages round who had survived the battle had joined him at once with
their wives, and that fresh men were pouring in every hour. He urged Beric to
leave Boduoc in charge of the island, and to return with the empty boats in
order that they might have a consultation. This Beric did, and upon his
arrival he found that there were over four hundred men in camp, with a
proportionate number of women and children. There were several subchiefs
among them, and Aska invited them to join in the council.

"It is evident," he said, "that so large a number as this cannot find food
in one place in the swamps, at any rate until we have learned to catch fish
and snare wildfowl as the Fenmen do. The swine we can take there, but these
light boats would not carry cattle in any numbers, though some might be
thrown and carried there, with their legs tied together. At present this
place is safe from attack. There is only one path, our guide says, by which
it can be approached. I propose that we cut wide gaps through this, and throw
beams and planks over them. These we can remove in case of attack. When we
hear of the Romans' approach we can throw up a high defence of trees and
bushes behind each gap."

"That will be excellent," Beric agreed, "and you would doubtless be able
to make a long defence against them on the causeway. But you must not depend
upon their keeping upon that. They will wade through the swamp waist deep,
and, if it be deeper still, will cut down bushes and make faggots and move
forward on these. So, though you may check them on the causeway, they will
certainly, by one means or other, make their way up to your intrenchment, and
you must therefore strengthen this in every way. I should build up a great
bank behind it, so that if they break through or fire the defences you can
defend the bank. There is one thing that must be done without delay; we must
build more boats. There must be here many men from the eastern coast, where
they have much larger and stronger craft than these coracles. I should put a
strong party to work upon them. Then, in case of an attack, you could, when
you see that longer resistance would be vain, take to the boats and join me;
or, when the Romans approach, send them off to fetch my party from the
island. Besides, we shall want to move bodies of men rapidly so as to attack
and harass the enemy when they are not expecting us.

"I should say that we ought to have at least twenty great flatboats able
to carry fifty men each. Speed would not be of much consequence, as the
Romans will have no boats to follow us; besides, except on the Ouse and one
or two of the larger streams, there is no room for rowing, and they must be
poled along. Let us keep none but fighting men here. As all the villagers
fled north there must be numbers of cattle and swine wandering untended in
all the woods, and in many of the hamlets much grain must have been left
behind, therefore I should send out parties from time to time to bring them
in. When the large boats are built we can transport some of the cattle alive
to the island; till then they must be slaughtered here; but with each party a
few swine might be sent to the island, where they can range about as they
choose. What is the last news you have of the Romans?"

"They are pressing steadily north, burning and slaying. I hear that they
spare none, and that the whole land of the Trinobantes, from the Thames to
the Stour, has been turned into a waste."

"It was only what we had to expect, Aska. Have any more of my people come
in since I left?"

"Only a young girl. She arrived last night. It is she that brought the
news that I am giving you. She is a sister of your friend Boduoc, and her
mother, who had given her up for lost, almost lost her senses with delight
when she returned. The family are fortunate, for another son also came in two
or three days ago."

Beric at once went in search of Boduoc's mother, whom he found established
with her girls in a little bower.

"I am glad indeed that your daughter has returned safe," he said, as the
old woman came out on hearing his voice.

"Yes, I began to think that I should never see her face again, Beric; but
I am fortunate indeed, when so many are left friendless, that all my four
children should be spared.

"Tell the chief how you fulfilled your mission," she said to the girl.

"It was easy enough," she replied. "Had I been by myself I should have
returned here three days since, but the little lady could not make long
journeys, and it was three days after we left before we saw any of the
Romans. At last we came upon a column of horse. When we saw them the little
lady gave me this bracelet, and she put this gold chain into my hand and
said, 'Beric.' So I knew that it was for you. Then I ran back and hid myself
in the trees while they went forward. When they got near the soldiers on
horseback the man lifted up his arms and cried something in a loud voice.
Then they rode up to them, and for some time I could see nothing. Then the
horsemen rode on again, all but two of them, who went on south. The man rode
behind one of them, and the little lady before another. Then I turned and
made hither, travelling without stopping, except once for a few hours' sleep.
There are many fugitives in the woods, and from them I heard that the land of
the Trinobantes was lit up by burning villages, and that the Romans were
slaughtering all. Some of those I met in the wood had hid themselves, and had
made their way at night, and they saw numbers of dead bodies, women and
children as well as men, in the burned hamlets."

"You have done your mission well," Beric said. "Boduoc will be glad when I
tell him how you have carried out my wish. We must find a good husband for
you some day, and I will take care that you go to him with a good store of
cattle and swine. Where is your brother?"

"He is there," she said, "leaning against that tree waiting for you."

"I am glad to see you safe among us," Beric said to the young man. "How
did you escape the battle?"

"I was driving the chariot with Parta's attendants, as I had from the day
we started. I kept close behind her chariot, and escaped with her when the
line of wagons was broken to let the queen pass. When we got far away from
the battle your mother stopped her chariot and bade me go north. 'I have no
more need of attendants,' she said; 'let them save themselves. Do you find my
son if he has escaped the battle, and tell him that I shall share the fate of
Boadicea. I have lived a free woman, and will die one. Tell him to fight to
the end against the Romans, and that I shall expect him to join me before
long in the Happy Island. Bid him not lament for me, but rejoice, as he
should, that I have gone to the Land where there are no sorrows.' Then I
turned my chariot and drove to your home to await your coming there if you
should have escaped. It was but a few hours after that the messengers brought
the news that you were safe, and that the survivors of your band were to join
you at Soto with such men as might have escaped. As Parta's orders were to
take the women with me to the north, I drove them two days farther, taking
with me a lad, the brother of one of them. Then I handed over the chariot to
him, to convey them to the land of the Brigantes, and started hither on foot
to join you."

"You shall go on with me tomorrow, you and your mother and sisters. Boduoc
will be rejoiced to see you all. We have found a place where even the Romans
will hardly reach us."

IX. — THE STRUGGLE IN THE SWAMP

THAT evening Beric had a long talk with Aska and four or
five men from the
coast accustomed to the building of large boats. The matter would be easy
enough, they said, as the boats would not be required to withstand the strain
of the sea, and needed only to be put together with flat bottoms and sides.
With so large a number of men they could hew down trees of suitable size, and
thin them down until they obtained a plank from each. They would then be
fastened together by strong pegs and dried moss driven in between the
crevices. Pitch, however, would be required to stop up the seams, and of this
they had none.

"Then," Beric said, "we must make some pitch. There is no great difficulty
about that. There are plenty of fir trees growing near the edges of the
swamps, and from the roots of these we can get tar."

The men were all acquainted with the process, which was a simple one. A
deep hole was dug in the ground. The bottom of this was lined with clay,
hollowed out into a sort of bowl. The hole was then filled with the roots of
fir closely packed together. When it was full a fire was lit above it. As
soon as this had made its way down earth was piled over it and beaten down
hard, a small orifice being left in the centre. In this way the wood was
slowly converted into charcoal, and the resin and tar, as they oosed out
under the heat, trickled down into the bowl of clay at the bottom. As little
or no smoke escaped after the fire was first lighted, the work could be
carried on without fear of attracting the attention of any bodies of the
enemy who might be searching the country.

Two months passed. By the end of that time the intrenchment on the river
bank had been made so strong that it could resist any attack save by a very
large body of men. That on the island had also been completed, and strong
banks thrown up at the only three points where a landing could be effected
from boats.

The swamps had been thoroughly explored in the neighbourhood, and another
island discovered, and on this three hundred men had been established, while
four hundred remained on the great island, and as many in the camp on the
river. There were over a thousand women and children distributed among the
three stations. Three hundred men had laboured incessantly at the boats, and
these were now finished. While all this work had been going on considerable
numbers of fish and wildfowl had been obtained by barter from the Fenmen,
with whom they had before had dealings, and from other communities living
among the swamps to the north. Many of the Iceni, who came from the marshy
districts of the eastern rivers, were also accustomed to fishing and fowling,
and, as soon as the work on the defences was finished and the tortuous
channels through the swamps became known to them, they began to lay nets,
woven by the women, across the streams, and to make decoys and snares of all
sorts for the wildfowl.

The framework for many coracles had been woven of withies by the women,
and the skins of all the cattle killed were utilized as coverings, so that by
the end of the two months they had quite a fleet of little craft of this
kind. As fast as the larger boats were finished they were used for carrying
cattle to the islands, and a large quantity of swine were also taken
over.

During this time the Romans had traversed the whole country of the Iceni.
The hamlets were fired, and all persons who fell into their hands put to
death; but the number of these was comparatively small, as the greater part
of the population had either moved north or taken to the woods, which were so
extensive that comparatively few of the fugitives were killed by the search
parties of the Romans. From the few prisoners that the Romans took they heard
reports that many of the Iceni had taken refuge in the swamps, and several
strong bodies had moved along the edge of the marsh country without
attempting to penetrate it.

Aska and Beric had agreed that so long as they were undisturbed they would
remain quiet, confining themselves to their borders, except when they sent
parties to search for cattle in the woods or to gather up grain that might
have escaped destruction in the hamlets, and that they would avoid any
collision with the Romans until their present vigilance abated or they
attempted to plant settlers in their neighbourhood.

Circumstances, however, defeated this intention. They learned from the
Fenmen that numerous fugitives had taken refuge in the southern swamps, and
that these sallying out had fallen upon parties of Romans near Huntingdon,
and had cut them to pieces. The Romans had in consequence sent a considerable
force to avenge this attack. These had penetrated some distance into the
swamps, but had there been attacked and driven back with much slaughter. But
a fortnight later a legion had marched to Huntingdon, and crossing the river
there had established a camp opposite, which they called Godmancastra, and,
having collected a number of natives from the west, were engaged in building
boats in which they intended to penetrate the swamp country and root out the
fugitives.

"It was sure to come sooner or later," Aska said to Beric. "Nor should we
wish it otherwise. We came here not to pass our lives as lurking fugitives,
but to gather a force and avenge ourselves on the Romans. If you like I will
go up the river and see our friends there, and ascertain their strength and
means of resistance. Would it be well, think you, to tell them of our strong
place here and offer to send our boats to bring them down, so that we may
make a great stand here?"

"No, I think not," Beric said. "Nothing would suit the Romans better than
to catch us all together, so as to destroy us at one blow. We know that in
the west they stormed the intrenchments of Cassivellaunus, and that no native
fort has ever withstood their assault. I should say that it ought to be a war
of small fights. We should attack them constantly, enticing them into the
deepest parts of the morass, and falling upon them at spots where our
activity will avail against their heavily weighted men. We should pour
volleys of arrows into their boats as they pass along through the narrow
creeks, show ourselves at points where the ground is firm enough for them to
land, and then falling back to deep morasses tempt them to pursue us there,
and then turn upon them. We should give them no rest night or day, and wear
them out with constant fighting and watching. The fens are broad and long,
stretching from Huntingdon to the sea; and if they are contested foot by
foot, we may tire out even the power of Rome."

"You are right, Beric; but at any rate it will be well to see how our
brethren are prepared. They may have no boats, and may urgently need
help."

"I quite agree with you, and I think it would be as well for you to go.
You could offer to bring all their women and children to our islands here,
and then we would send down a strong force to help them. We should begin to
contest strongly the Roman advance from the very first."

Accordingly Aska started up the Ouse in one of the large boats with twelve
men to pole it along, and three days afterwards returned with the news that
there were some two thousand men with twice that many women and children
scattered among the upper swamps.

"They have only a few small boats," he said, "and are in sore straits for
provisions. They drove at first a good many cattle in with them, but most of
these were lost in the morasses, and as there have been bodies of horse
moving about near Huntingdon, they have not been able to venture out as we
have done to drive in more."

"Have they any chief with them?" Beric asked.

"None of any importance. All the men are fugitives from the battle, who
were joined on their way north by the women of the villages. They are broken
up into groups, and have no leader to form any general plan. I spoke to the
principal men among them, and told them that we had strongly fortified
several places here, had built a fleet of boats, and were prepared for
warfare; they will all gladly accept you as their leader. They urgently
prayed that we would send our boats down for the women and children, and I
promised them that you would do so, and would also send down some provisions
for the fighting men."

The next morning the twenty large boats, each carrying thirty men and a
supply of meat and grain, started up the river, Beric himself going with
them, and taking Boduoc as his lieutenant. Aska remained in command at the
river fort, where the force was maintained at its full strength, the boat
party being drawn entirely from the two islands. Four miles below Huntingdon
they landed at a spot where the greater part of the Iceni there were
gathered. Fires were at once lighted, and a portion of the meat cooked, for
the fugitives were weak with hunger. As soon as this was satisfied, orders
were issued for half the women and children to be brought in.

These were crowded into the boats, which, in charge of four men in each,
then dropped down the stream, Beric having given orders that the boats were
to return as soon as the women were landed on the island. He spent the next
two days in traversing the swamps in a coracle, ascertaining where there was
firm ground, and where the morasses were impassable. He learned all the
particulars he could gather about the exact position of the Roman camp, and
the spot where the boats were being constructed—the Iceni were already
familiar with several paths leading out of the morasses in that
neighbourhood—and then drew out a plan for an attack upon the
Romans.

He had brought with him half the Sarci who had retired with him from the
battle. These he would himself command. A force of four hundred men, led by
Boduoc, were to travel by different paths through the swamp; they were then
to unite and to march round the Roman camp, and attack it suddenly on three
sides at once.

The camp was in the form of a horseshoe, and its ends resting on the
river, and it was here that the boats were being built. Beric himself with
his own hundred men and fifty others were to embark in four boats. As soon as
they were fairly beyond the swamp, they were to land on the Huntingdon side,
and to tow their boats along until within two or three hundred yards of the
Roman camp, when they were to await the sound of Boduoc's horn. Boduoc's
instructions were that he was to attack the camp fiercely on all sides. The
Roman sentries were known to be so vigilant that there was but slight
prospect of his entering the camp by surprise, or of his being able to scale
the palisades at the top of the bank of earth. The attack, however, was to be
made as if in earnest, and was to be maintained until Beric's horn gave the
signal for them to draw off, when they were to break up into parties as
before, and to retire into the heart of the swamp by the paths by which they
had left it.

The most absolute silence was to be observed until the challenge of the
Roman sentries showed that they were discovered, when they were to raise
their war shouts to the utmost so as to alarm and confuse the enemy.

The night was a dark one and a strong wind was blowing, so that Beric's
party reached their station unheard by the sentries on the walls of the camp.
It was an hour before they heard a distant shout, followed instantly by the
winding of a horn, and the loud war cry of the Iceni. At the same moment the
trumpets in the Roman intrenchments sounded, and immediately a tumult of
confused shouting arose around and within the camp. Beric remained quiet for
five minutes till the roar of battle was at its highest, and he knew that the
attention of the Romans would be entirely occupied with the attack. Then the
boats were again towed along until opposite the centre of the horseshoe; the
men took their places in them again and poled them across the river.

The fifty men who accompanied the Sarci carried bundles of rushes dipped
in pitch, and in each boat were burning brands which had been covered with
raw hides to prevent the light being seen. They were nearly across the river
when some sentries there, whose attention had hitherto been directed entirely
to the walls, suddenly shouted an alarm. As soon as the boats touched the
shore, Beric and his men leapt out, passed through the half built boats and
the piles of timber collected beside them, and formed up to repel an attack.
At the same moment the others lighted their bundles of rushes at the brands,
and jumping ashore set fire to the boats and wood piles. Astonished at this
outburst of flame within their camp, while engaged in defending the walls
from the desperate attacks of the Iceni, the Romans hesitated, and then some
of them came running down to meet the unexpected attack.

But the Sarci had already pressed quickly on, followed by some of the
torch bearers, and were in the midst of the Roman tents before the
legionaries gathered in sufficient force to meet them. The torches were
applied to the tents, and fanned by the breeze, the flames spread rapidly
from one to another. Beric blew the signal for retreat, and his men in a
solid body, with their spears outward, fell back. The Romans, as they arrived
at the spot, rushed furiously upon them; but discipline was this time on the
side of the Sarci, who beat off all attacks till they reached the river bank.
Then in good order they took their places in the boats, Beric with a small
body covering the movement till the last; then they made a rush to the boats;
the men, standing with their poles ready, instantly pushed the craft into the
stream, and in two minutes they were safe on the other side.

The boats and piles of timber were already blazing fiercely, while the
Roman camp, in the centre of the intrenchment, was in a mass of flames,
lighting up the helmets and armour of the soldiers ranged along the wall, and
engaged in repelling the attacks of the Iceni. As soon as the Sarci were
across, they leapt ashore and towed the boat along by the bank. A few arrows
fell among them, but as soon as they had pushed off from the shore most of
the Romans had run back to aid in the defence of the walls. Beric's horn now
gave the signal that the work was done, and in a short time the shouts of the
Iceni began to subside, the din of the battle grew fainter, and in a few
minutes all was quiet round the Roman camp.

There was great rejoicing when the parties of the Iceni met again in the
swamp. They had struck a blow that would greatly inconvenience the Romans for
some time, would retard their attack, and show them that the spirit of the
Britons was still high. The loss of the Iceni had been very small, only some
five or six of Beric's party had fallen, and twenty or thirty of the
assailants of the wall; they believed that the Romans had suffered much more,
for they could be seen above their defences by the light of the flames behind
them, while the Iceni were in darkness. Thus the darts and javelins of the
defenders had been cast almost at random, while they themselves had been
conspicuous marks for the missiles of the assailants.

In Beric's eyes the most important point of the encounter was that it had
given confidence to the fugitives, had taught them the advantage of fighting
with a plan, and of acting methodically and in order. There was a
consultation next morning. Beric pointed out to the leaders that although it
was necessary sometimes with an important object in view to take the
offensive, they must as a rule stand on the defensive, and depend upon the
depth of their morasses and their knowledge of the paths across them to
baffle the attempts of the Romans to penetrate.

"I should recommend," he said, "that you break up into parties of fifteens
and twenties, and scatter widely over the Fen country, and yet be near enough
to each other to hear the sound of the horn. Each party must learn every foot
of the ground and water in the neighbourhood round them. In that way you will
be able to assemble when you hear the signal announcing the coming of the
Romans, you will know the paths by which you can attack or retreat, and the
spots where you can make your way across, but where the Romans cannot follow
you. Each party must earn its sustenance by fishing and fowling; and in
making up your parties, there should be two or three men in each accustomed
to this work. Each party must provide itself with coracles; I will send up a
boat load of hides. Beyond that you must search for cattle and swine in the
woods, when by sending spies on shore you find there are no parties of Romans
about.

"The parties nearest to Huntingdon should be always vigilant, and day and
night keep men at the edge of the swamp to watch the doings of the Romans,
and should send notice to me every day or two as to what the enemy are doing,
and when they are likely to advance. Should they come suddenly, remember that
it is of no use to try to oppose their passage down the river. Their boats
will be far stronger than ours, and we should but throw away our lives by
fighting them there. They may go right down to the sea if they please, but
directly they land or attempt to thrust their boats up the channels through
the swamp, then every foot must be contested. They must be shot down from the
bushes, enticed into swamps, and overwhelmed with missiles. Let each man make
himself a powerful bow and a great sheath of arrows pointed with flints or
flakes of stone, which must be fetched from the dry land, although even
without these they will fly straight enough if shot from the bushes at a few
yards' distance.

"Let the men practice with these, and remember that they must aim at the
legs of the Romans. It is useless to shoot at either shields or armour.
Besides, let each man make himself a spear, strong, heavy, and fully eighteen
feet long, with the point hardened in the fire, and rely upon these rather
than upon your swords to check their progress. Whenever you find broad paths
of firm ground across the swamps, cut down trees and bushes to form stout
barriers.

"Make friends with the Fenmen. Be liberal to them with gifts, and do not
attempt to plant parties near them, for this would disturb their wildfowl and
lead to jealousy and quarrels. However well you may learn the swamps, they
know them better, and were they hostile might lead the Romans into our midst.
In some parts you may not find dry land on which to build huts; in that case
choose spots where the trees are stout, lash saplings between these and build
your huts upon them so as to be three or four feet above the wet soil. Some
of my people who know the swamps by the eastern rivers tell me that this is
the best way to avoid the fen fevers."

Having seen that everything was arranged, Beric and his party returned to
their camp. For some time the reports from the upper river stated that the
Romans were doing little beyond sending out strong parties to cut timber.
Then came the news that a whole legion had arrived, and that small forts
containing some two hundred men each were being erected, three or four miles
apart, on both sides of the Fen.

"That shows that all resistance must have ceased elsewhere," Aska said,
"or they would never be able to spare so great a force as a legion and a half
against us. I suppose that these forts are being built to prevent our
obtaining cattle, and that they hope to starve us out. They will hardly
succeed in that, for the rivers and channels swarm with fish, and now that
winter is coming on they will abound with wildfowl."

"I am afraid of the winter," Beric said, "for then they will be able to
traverse the swamps, where now they would sink over their heads."

"Unless the frosts are very severe, Beric, the ground will not harden
much, for every foot is covered with trees and bushes. As to grain we can do
without it, but we shall be able to fetch some at least down from the north.
Indeed, it would need ten legions to form a line along both sides of the Fen
country right down to the sea and to pen us in completely."

By this time the Iceni had become familiar with the channels through the
swamps for long distances from their fastness, and had even established a
trade with the people lying to the northwest of the Fen country. They learnt
that the Romans boasted they had well nigh annihilated the Trinobantes and
Iceni; but that towards the other tribes that had taken part in the great
rising they had shown more leniency, though some of their principal towns had
been destroyed and the inhabitants put to the sword.

A month later a fleet of boats laden with Roman soldiers started from
Huntingdon and proceeded down the Ouse. Dead silence reigned round them, and
although they proceeded nearly to the sea they saw no signs of a foe, and so
turning they rowed back to Huntingdon. But in their absence the Iceni had not
been idle. The spies from the swamps had discovered when the expedition was
preparing to start, and had found too that a strong body of troops was to
march along the edges of the swamps in order to cut off the Iceni should they
endeavour to make their escape.

The alarm had been sounded from post to post, and in accordance with the
orders of Beric the whole of the fighting men at once began to move south,
some in boats, some in their little coracles, which were able to thread their
way through the network of channels. The night after the Romans started, the
whole of the fighting force of the Britons was gathered in the southern
swamps, and two hours before daybreak issued out. Some five hundred, led by
Aska, followed the western bank of the river towards Huntingdon, which had
for the time been converted into a Roman city, inhabited by the artisans who
had constructed the boats and the settlers who supplied the army; it had been
garrisoned by five hundred legionaries, of whom three hundred had gone away
in the boats.

The main body advanced against the Roman camp on the opposite bank, in
which, as their spies had learnt, three hundred men had been left as a
garrison. By Beric's orders a great number of ladders had been constructed.
As upon the previous occasion the camp was surrounded before they advanced
against it, and when the first shout of a sentry showed that they were
discovered Beric's horn gave the signal, and with a mighty shout the Britons
rushed on from all sides. Dashing down the ditch, and climbing the steep bank
behind it the Iceni planted their ladders against the palisade, and swarming
over it poured into the camp before the Romans had time to gather to oppose
them. Beric had led his own band of two hundred trained men against the point
where the wall of the camp touched the river, and as soon as they were over
formed them up and led them in a compact body against the Romans.

In spite of the suddenness of the attack, the discipline of the
legionaries was unshaken, and as soon as their officers found that the walls
were already lost they formed their men in a solid body to resist the attack.
Before Beric with his band reached the spot the Romans were already engaged
in a fierce struggle with the Britons, who poured volleys of darts and arrows
among them, and desperately strove, sword in hand, to break their solid
formation. This they were unable to do, until Beric's band six deep with
their hedge of spears before them came up, and with a loud shout threw
themselves upon the Romans. The weight and impetus of the charge was
irresistible. The Roman cohort was broken, and a deadly hand to hand struggle
commenced. But here the numbers and the greatly superior height and strength
of the Britons were decisive, and before many minutes had passed the last
Roman had been cut down, the scene of the battle being lighted up by the
flames of Huntingdon.

A shout of triumph from the Britons announced that all resistance had
ceased. Beric at once blew his horn, and, as had been previously arranged,
four hundred of the island men immediately started under Boduoc to oppose the
garrison at the nearest fort, should they meet these hastening to the
assistance of their comrades. Then a systematic search for plunder commenced.
One of the storehouses was emptied of its contents and fired, and by its
light the arms and armour of the Roman soldiers were collected, the huts and
tents rifled of everything of value, the storehouses emptied of their stores
of grain and provisions, and of the tools that had been used for the building
of boats. Everything that could be of use to the defenders was taken, and
fire was then applied to the buildings and tents. Morning broke before this
was accomplished, and laden down with spoil the Iceni returned to their
swamps, Boduoc's and Aska's parties rejoining them there.

The former had met the Romans hurrying from the nearest fort to aid the
garrison of the camp. Beric's orders had been that Boduoc was if possible to
avoid a fight, as in the open the discipline of the Romans would probably
prevail over British valour. The Iceni, therefore, set up a great shouting in
front and in the rear of the Romans, shooting their missiles among them, and
being unable in the dark to perceive the number of their assailants, and
fearful that they had fallen into an ambush, the Romans fell back to their
fort. Aska's party had also returned laden with plunder, and as soon as the
whole were united a division of this was made. The provisions, clothing, and
arms were divided equally among the men, while the stores of rope, metal,
canvas, and other articles that would be useful to the community were set
aside to be taken to the island. Thither also the shields, armour, and
helmets of the Roman soldiers were to be conveyed, to be broken up and melted
into spear and arrow heads.

As the Roman boats returned two days later from their useless passage down
the river, they were astonished and enraged by outbursts of mocking laughter
from the tangle of bushes fringing the river. Not a foe was to be seen, but
for miles these sounds of derisive laughter assailed them from both sides of
the stream. The veterans ground their teeth with rage, and would have rowed
towards the banks had not their officers, believing that it was the intention
of the Britons to induce them to land, and then to lead them into an ambush,
ordered them to keep on their way. On passing beyond the region of the swamp
a cry of dismay burst from the crowded boats, as it was perceived that the
town of Huntingdon had entirely disappeared. As they neared the camp,
however, the sight of numerous sentries on the walls relieved them of part of
their anxiety; but upon landing they learnt the whole truth, that the five
hundred Roman soldiers in the camp and at Huntingdon had fallen to a man, and
that the whole of the stores collected had been carried away or
destroyed.

The news had been sent rapidly along the chain of forts on either side of
the swamp, and fifty men from each had been despatched to repair and reoccupy
the camp, which was now held by a thousand men, who had already begun to
repair the palisades that had been fired by the Britons.

This disaster at once depressed and infuriated the Roman soldiers, while
it showed to the general commanding them that the task he had been appointed
to perform was vastly more serious than he had expected. Already, as he had
traversed mile after mile of the silent river, he had been impressed with the
enormous difficulty there would be in penetrating the pathless morasses,
extending as he knew in some places thirty or forty miles in width. The proof
now afforded of the numbers, determination, and courage of the men lurking
there still further impressed him with the gravity of the undertaking.
Messengers were at once sent off to Suetonius, who was at Camalodunum, which
he was occupied in rebuilding, to inform him of the reverse, and to ask for
orders, and the general with five hundred men immediately set out for the
camp of Godman.

Suetonius at once proceeded to examine for himself the extent of the Fen
country, riding with a body of horsemen along the eastern boundary as far as
the sea, and then, returning to the camp, followed up the western margin
until he again reached the sea. He saw at once that the whole of the Roman
army in Britain would be insufficient to guard so extensive a line, and that
it would be hopeless to endeavour to starve out men who could at all times
make raids over the country around them. The first step to be taken must be
to endeavour to circumscribe their limits. Orders were at once sent to the
British tribes in south and midlands to send all their available men, and as
these arrived they were set to work to clear away by axe and fire the trees
and bush on the eastern side of the river Ouse.

As soon as the intentions of the Romans were understood, the British camp
at the junction of the rivers was abandoned, as with so large a force of
workmen the Romans could have made wide roads up to it, and although it might
have resisted for some time, it must eventually fall, while the Romans, by
sending their flotilla of boats down, could cut off the retreat of the
garrison. For two months thirty thousand workmen laboured under the eyes of
strong parties of Roman soldiers, and the work of denuding the swamps east of
the Ouse was accomplished.

Winter had now set in, but the season was a wet one, and although the
Romans made repeated attempts to fire the brushwood from the south and west,
they failed to do so. Severe frost accompanied by heavy snow set in late, and
as soon as the ground was hard enough the Romans entered the swamps near
Huntingdon, and began their advance northwards. The Britons were expecting
them, and the whole of their fighting force had gathered to oppose them.
Beric and Aska set them to work as soon as the Roman army crossed the river
and marched north, and as the Romans advanced slowly and carefully through
the tangled bushes, they heard a strange confused noise far ahead of them,
and after marching for two miles came upon a channel, where the ice had been
broken into fragments.

They at once set to work to cut down bushes and form them into faggots to
fill up the gaps, but as they approached the channel with these they were
assailed by volleys of arrows from the bushes on the opposite side. The light
armed troops were brought up, and the work of damming the channel at a dozen
points, was covered by a shower of javelins and arrows. The Britons, however,
had during the past month made shields of strong wicker work of Roman
pattern, but long enough to cover them from the eyes down to the ankles, and
the wicker work was protected by a double coating of ox hide. Boys collected
the javelins as fast as they were thrown, and handed them to the men. As soon
as the road across the channel was completed the Romans poured over,
believing that now they should scatter their invisible foes; but they were
mistaken, for the Britons with levelled spears, their bodies covered with
their bucklers, burst down upon them as they crossed, while a storm of darts
and javelins poured in from behind the fighting line.

Again and again they were driven back, until after suffering great loss
they made good their footing at several points, when, at the sound of a horn,
resistance at once ceased, and the Britons disappeared as if by magic.
Advancing cautiously the Romans found that the ice in all the channels had
been broken up, and they were soon involved in a perfect network of sluggish
streams. Across these the Britons had felled trees to form bridges for their
retreat, and these they dragged after them as soon as they crossed. Every one
of these streams was desperately defended, and as the line of swamp grew
wider the Roman front became more and more scattered.

Late in the afternoon a sudden and furious attack was made upon them from
the rear, Beric having taken a strong force round their flank. Numbers of the
Romans were killed before they could assemble to make head against the
attack, and as soon as they did so their assailants as usual drew off. After
a long day's fighting the Romans had gained scarce a mile from the point
where resistance had commenced, and this at a cost of over three hundred men.
Suetonius himself had commanded the attack, and when the troops halted for
the night at the edge of an unusually wide channel, he felt that the task he
had undertaken was beyond his powers. He summoned the commanders of the two
legions to the hut that had been hastily raised for him.

"What think you?" he asked. "This is a warfare even more terrible than
that we waged with the Goths in their forests. This Beric, who is their
leader, has indeed profited by the lessons he learned at Camalodunum. No
Roman general could have handled his men better. He is full of resources, and
we did not reckon upon his breaking up the ice upon all these channels. If we
have had so much trouble in forcing our way where the swamps are but two
miles across, and that with a frost to help us, the task will be a terrible
one when we get into the heart of the morasses, where they are twenty miles
wide. Yet we cannot leave them untouched. There would never be peace and
quiet as long as these bands, under so enterprising a leader, remained
unsubdued. Can you think of any other plan by which we may advance with less
loss?"

The two officers were silent. "The resistance may weaken," one said after
a long pause. "We have learnt from the natives that they have not in all much
above three thousand fighting men, and they must have lost as heavily as we
have."

Suetonius shook his head. "I marked as we advanced," he said, "that there
was not one British corpse to four Romans. We shoot at random, while they
from their bushes can see us, and even when they charge us our archers can
aid but little, seeing that the fighting takes place among the bushes.
However, we will press on for a time. The natives behind us must clear the
ground as fast as we advance, and every foot gained is gained for good."

Three times during the night the British attacked the Romans, once by
passing up the river in their coracles and landing behind them, once by
marching out into the country round their left flank, and once by pouring out
through cross channels in their boats and landing in front. All night, too,
their shouts kept the Romans awake in expectation of attack.

For four days the fighting continued, and the Romans, at the cost of over
a thousand men, won their way eight miles farther. By the end of that time
they were utterly exhausted with toil and want of sleep; the swamps each day
became wider, and the channels larger and deeper. Then the Roman leaders
agreed that no more could be done. Twelve miles had been won and cleared, but
this was the mere tongue of the Fenland, and to add to their difficulties
that day the weather had suddenly changed, and in the evening rain set in. It
was therefore determined to retreat while the ground was yet hard, and having
lighted their fires, and left a party to keep these burning and to deceive
the British, the Romans drew off and marched away, bearing to the left so as
to get out on to the plain, and to leave the ground, encumbered with the
sharp stumps of the bushes and its network of channels, behind them as soon
as possible.

X. — BETRAYED

THE Britons soon discovered that the Romans had retreated,
but made no
movement in pursuit. They knew that the legionaries once in open ground were
more than their match, and they were well content with the success they had
gained. They had lost in all but four hundred men, while they were certain
that the Romans had suffered much more heavily, and that there was but little
chance of the attack being renewed in the same manner, for if their progress
was so slow when they had frost to aid them, what chance would they have when
there was scarce a foot of land that could bear their weight? The winter
passed, indeed, without any further movement. The Britons suffered to some
extent from the damps; but as the whole country was undrained, and for the
most part covered with forest, they were accustomed to a damp laden
atmosphere, and so supported the fogs of the Fens far better than they would
otherwise have done.

In the spring, grain, which had been carefully preserved for the purpose,
was sown in many places where the land was above the level of the swamps. A
number of large boats had been built during the winter, as Beric and Aska
were convinced that the next attack would be made by water, having learned
from the country people to the west that a vast number of flat bottomed boats
had been built by the Romans.

Early in the spring fighting again began. A great flotilla of boats
descended from Huntingdon, and turning off the side channels entered the
swamp. But the Britons were prepared. They were now well provided with tools,
and numbers of trees had been felled across the channels, completely blocking
the passage. As soon as the boats left the main river, they were assailed
with a storm of javelins from the bushes, and the Romans, when they attempted
to land, found their movements impeded by the deep swamp in which they often
sank up to the waist, while their foes in their swamp pattens traversed them
easily, and inflicted heavy losses upon them, driving them back into their
boats again. At the points where the channels were obstructed desperate
struggles took place. The Romans, from their boats, in vain endeavoured,
under the storm of missiles from their invisible foes, to remove the
obstacles, and as soon as they landed to attempt to do so they were attacked
with such fury that they were forced to fall back.

Several times they found their way of retreat blocked by boats that had
come down through side channels, and had to fight their way back with great
loss and difficulty. After maintaining the struggle for four days, and
suffering a loss even greater than that they had incurred in their first
attack, the Romans again drew off and ascended the river. The Fenmen had
joined the Iceni in repelling the attack. The portion of the swamp they
inhabited was not far away, and they felt that they too were threatened by
the Roman advance. They had therefore rejoined the Iceni, although for some
time they had kept themselves aloof from them, owing to quarrels that had
arisen because, as they asserted, some of the Iceni had entered their
district and carried off the birds from their traps. Beric had done all in
his power to allay this feeling, recompensing them for the losses they
declared they had suffered, and bestowing many presents upon them. He and
Aska often talked the matter over, and agreed that their greatest danger was
from the Fenmen.

"They view us as intruders in their country," Aska said, "and doubtless
consider that in time we shall become their masters. Should they turn against
us they could lead the Romans direct to our islands, and if these were lost
all would be lost."

"If you fear that, Aska," Boduoc, who was present, said, "we had better
kill the little wretches at once."

"No, no Boduoc," Beric said. "We have nothing against them at present, and
we should be undeserving of the protection of the gods were we to act towards
them as the Romans act towards us. Moreover, such an attempt would only bring
about what we fear. Some of them, knowing their way as they do through the
marshes, would be sure to make their escape, and these would bring the Romans
down upon us. Even did we slay all this tribe here, the Fenmen in the north
would seek to avenge their kinsmen, and would invite the Romans to their aid.
No, we must speak the Fenmen fair, avoid all cause of quarrel, do all we can
to win their goodwill, and show them that they have nothing to fear from us.
Still, we must always be on guard against treachery. Night and day a watch
must be set at the mouths of all the channels by which they might penetrate
in this direction."

Another month passed. The Romans still remained in their forts round the
Fens. The natives had now been brought round to the western side, and under
the protection of strong bodies of soldiers were occupied in clearing the
swamp on that side. They made but little progress, however, for the Britons
made frequent eruptions among them, and the depth of the morasses in this
direction rendered it well nigh impossible for them to advance, and progress
could only be made by binding the bush into bundles and forming roads as they
went on. From their kinsmen in the northwest, Beric learned that a new
propraetor had arrived to replace Suetonius, for it was reported that the
wholesale severity of the latter was greatly disapproved of in Rome, so that
his successor had come out with orders to pursue a milder policy, and to
desist from the work of extirpation that Suetonius was carrying on. It was
known that at any rate the newcomer had issued a proclamation, saying that
Rome wished neither to destroy nor enslave the people of Britain, and that
all fugitives were invited to return to their homes, adding a promise that no
molestation should be offered to them, and that an amnesty was granted to all
for their share in the late troubles.

"What do you think, Aska?" Beric asked when they heard the news.

"It may be true or it may not," Aska said. "For myself, after the
treatment of Boadicea, and the seizure of all her husband's property, I have
no faith in Roman promises. However, all this is but a rumour. It will be
time enough to consider it when they send in a flag of truce and offer us
terms of surrender. Besides, supposing the proclamation has been rightly
reported, the amnesty is promised only for the past troubles. The new general
must have heard of the heavy losses we inflicted on the Romans as soon as he
landed, and had he meant his proclamation to apply to us he would have said
so. However, I sincerely trust that it is true, even if we are not included,
and are to be hunted down like wild beasts. Rome cannot wish to conquer a
desert, and you have told me she generally treats the natives of conquered
provinces well after all resistance has ceased. It may well be that the
Romans disapprove of the harshness of Suetonius, although the rising was not
due to him so much as to the villain Decianus. Still he was harsh in the
extreme, and his massacre of the Druids enlisted every Briton against him.
Other measures may now be tried; the ground must be cultivated, or it is
useless to Rome. There are at present many tribes still unsubdued, and were
men like Suetonius and Decianus to continue to scourge the land by their
cruelties, they might provoke another rising as formidable as ours, and bring
fresh disaster upon Rome. But whether the amnesty applies to us or not, I
shall be glad to hear that Suetonius has left. We know that three days ago at
any rate he was at their camp opposite Huntingdon, and he may well wish to
strike a blow before he leaves, in order that he may return with the credit
of having crushed out the last resistance."

Two nights later, an hour before daybreak, a man covered with wounds,
breathless and exhausted, made his way up to the intrenchment on the
principal island.

"To arms!" he shouted. "The Romans are upon us!" One of the sentries ran
with the news to Beric's hut. Springing from his couch Beric sounded his
horn, and the band, who were at all times kept to the strength of four
hundred, rushed to the line of defences.

"What is it? What is your news?" Beric asked the messenger.

"It is treachery, Beric. With two comrades I was on watch at the point
where the principal channel hence runs into the river. Suddenly we thought we
heard the sound of oars on the river above us. We could not be sure. It was a
faint confused sound, and we stood at the edge of the bank listening, when
suddenly from behind us sprang out a dozen men, and before we had time to
draw a sword we were cut down. They hewed at us till they thought us dead,
and for a time I knew nothing more. When I came to myself I saw a procession
of Roman boats turning in at the channel. For a time I was too faint to move;
but at last I crawled down a yard or two to the water and had a drink. Then
my strength gradually returned and I struggled to my feet.

"To proceed by land through the marshes at night was impossible, but I
found my coracle, which we had hidden under the bushes, and poled up the
channel after the Romans, who were now some distance ahead. The danger gave
me strength, and I gained upon them. When I could hear their oars ahead I
turned off by a cross channel so as to strike another leading direct hither.
What was my horror when I reached it to see another flotilla of Roman boats
passing along. Then I guessed that not only we but the watchers at all the
other channels must have been surprised and killed by the treacherous Fenmen.
I followed the boats till I reached a spot where I knew there was a track
through the marshes to the island.

"For hours I struggled on, often losing the path in the darkness and
falling into swamps, where I was nearly overwhelmed; but at last I approached
the island. The Romans were already near. I tried each avenue by which our
boats approached, but all were held by them. But at last I made my way
through by one of the deepest marshes, where at any other time I would not
have set foot, even in broad daylight, and so have arrived in time to warn
you."

"You have done well. Your warning comes not, I fear, in time to save us,
but it will enable us at least to die like men, with arms in our hands."

Parties of men were at once sent down to hold the intrenchments erected to
cover the approaches. Some of those who knew the swamps best were sent out
singly, but they found the Romans everywhere. They had formed a complete
circle round the island, all the channels being occupied by the boats, while
parties had been landed upon planks thrown across the soft ground between the
channels to prevent any from passing on foot.

"They will not attack until broad daylight," Aska said, when all the men
who had been sent out had returned with a similar tale. "They must fight
under the disadvantage of not knowing the ground, and would fear that in the
darkness some of us would slip away."

Contrary to expectation the next day passed without any movement by the
Romans, and Beric and Aska agreed that most likely the greater portion of the
boats had gone back to bring up more troops.

"They will not risk another defeat," Aska said, "and they must be sure
that, hemmed in as we are, we shall fight to the last."

The practicability of throwing the whole force against the Romans at one
point, and of so forcing their way through was discussed; but in that case
the women and children, over a thousand in number, must be left behind, and
the idea was therefore abandoned. Another day of suspense passed. During the
evening loud shouts were heard in the swamp, and the Britons had no doubt
that the boats had returned with reinforcements. There were three points
where boats could come up to the shore of the island. Aska, Boduoc, and
another chief, each with a hundred men, took their posts in the intrenchments
there, while Beric, with a hundred of the Sarci, remained in the great
intrenchment on the summit, in readiness to bear down upon any point where
aid was required. Soon after daybreak next morning the battle began, the
Romans advancing in their flat bottomed boats and springing on shore. In
spite of a hail of missiles they advanced against the intrenchments; but
these were strongly built in imitation of the Roman works, having a steep
bank of earth surmounted by a solid palisade breast high, and constructed of
massive timber.

For some hours the conflict raged, fifty of the defenders at each
intrenchment thrusting down with their long spears the assailants as they
strove to scale the bank, while the other fifty rained arrows and javelins
upon them; and whenever they succeeded in getting up to the palisade through
the circle of the spears, threw down their bows and opposed them sword in
hand. Again and again the Romans were repulsed with great slaughter, the
cries of exultation from the women who lined the upper intrenchment rose loud
and shrill.

Beric divided his force into three bodies. The first was to move down
instantly if they saw the defenders of the lower intrenchment hard pressed;
the others were to hold their position until summoned by Beric to move down
and join in the fray. He himself paced round and round the intrenchment,
occupied less with the three desperate fights going on below than with the
edge of the bushes between those points. He knew that the morasses were so
deep that even an active and unarmed man could scarce make his way through
them and that only by springing from bush to bush. But he feared that the
Romans might form paths by throwing down faggots, and so gain the island at
some undefended point.

Until noon he saw nothing to justify his anxiety; everything seemed still
in the swamp. But he knew that this silence was deceptive, and the canopy of
marsh loving trees completely hid the bushes and undergrowth from his sight.
It was just noon when a Roman trumpet sounded, and at once at six different
points a line of Roman soldiers issued from the bushes. Beric raised his horn
to his lips and blew the signal for retreat. At its sound the defenders of
the three lower intrenchments instantly left their posts and dashed at full
speed up the hill, gaining it long before the Romans, who, as they issued
out, formed up in order to repel any attack that might be made upon them.

"So they have made paths across the swamp," Aska said bitterly, as he
joined Beric. "They would never have made their way in by fair fighting."

"Well," Beric said, "there is one more struggle, and a stout one, and then
we go to join our friends who have gone before us in the Happy Island in the
far west. We need not be ashamed to meet them. They will welcome us as men
who have struggled to the last for liberty against the oppressor, and who
have nobly upheld the honour of the Iceni. We shall meet with a great
welcome."

Not until the Romans had landed the whole of the force they had brought
up, which Beric estimated as exceeding two thousand men, did they advance to
the attack, pressing forward against all points of the intrenchment. The
Iceni were too few for the proper defence of so long a circuit of
intrenchments, but the women and boys took their places beside them armed
with hatchets, clubs, and knives. The struggle was for a long time uncertain,
so desperately did the defenders fight; and it was not until suffering the
loss of a third of their number, from the missiles and weapons of the
British, that the Romans at last broke through the intrenchment. Even then
the British fought to the last. None thought of asking for quarter, but each
died contented if he could kill but one Roman. The women flung themselves on
the spears of the assailants, preferring death infinitely to falling into the
hands of the Romans; and soon the only survivors of the Britons were a group
of some thirty men gathered on a little knoll in the centre of the camp.

Beric had successfully defended the chief entrance to the camp until the
Romans burst in at other places, and then, blowing his horn, he had tried to
rally his men in the centre for a final stand. Aska had already fallen,
pierced by a Roman javelin; but Boduoc and a small body of the Sarci had
rallied round Beric, and had for a time beaten off the assaults of the
Romans. But soon they were reduced to half their number, and were on the
point of being overwhelmed by the crowds surrounding them, when a Roman
trumpet sounded and their assailants fell back. An officer made his way
towards them and addressed Beric.

"Suetonius bids me say that he honours bravery, and that your lives will
be spared if you lay down your arms."

"Tell Suetonius that we scorn his mercy," Beric said, "and will die as we
have lived, free men."

The Roman bade his men stand to their weapons, and not move until his
return. It was a few minutes before he came back again. Behind him were a
number of soldiers, who had laid aside their arms and provided themselves
with billets of wood and long poles. Before Beric could understand what was
intended, he and his companions were struck to the ground by the discharge of
the wooden missiles or knocked down by the poles. Then the Romans threw
themselves upon them and bound them hand and foot, the camp was plundered,
fire applied to the huts, and the palisades beaten down. Then the captives
were carried down to the boats, and the Romans rowed away through the
marshes. They had little to congratulate themselves upon. They had captured
the leader of the Iceni, had destroyed his stronghold and slain four hundred
of his followers, but it had cost them double that number of men, and a large
portion of the remainder bore wounds more or less severe.

Boduoc and the other prisoners were furious at their capture. The Britons
had no fear whatever of death, but capture was regarded as a disgrace; and
that they alone should have been preserved when their comrades had all been
killed and the women and children massacred, was to them a terrible
misfortune. They considered that they had been captured by an unworthy ruse,
for had they known what was intended they would have slain each other, or
stabbed themselves, rather than become captives.

Beric's feelings were more mixed. Although he would have preferred death
to captivity, his ideas had been much modified by his residence among the
Romans, and he saw nothing disgraceful in what he could not avoid. He would
never have surrendered; would never have voluntarily accepted life; but as he
had been taken captive against his will and in fair fight, he saw no disgrace
in it. He wondered why he and his companions had been spared. It might be
that they were to be put to death publicly, as a warning to their countrymen;
but he thought it more likely that Suetonius had preserved them to carry them
back to Rome as a proof that he had, before giving up the command, crushed
out the last resistance of the Britons to Roman rule. As the captives had
been distributed among the boats, he had no opportunity of speaking to his
companions until, about midnight, the flotilla arrived at Godmancastra. Then
they were laid on the ground together, a guard of six men taking post beside
them. Boduoc at once broke out in a torrent of execrations against the
Romans.

"They had a right to kill us," he said, "but they had no right to
dishonour us. We had a right to die with the others. We fought them fairly,
and refused to surrender. It is a shameful tyranny thus to disgrace us by
making us captives. I would not have refused death to my most hated foe; but
they shall not exult over us long. If they will not give me a weapon with
which to put an end to my life, I will starve myself."

There was an exclamation of fierce assent from the other captives.

"They have not meant to dishonour us, Boduoc, but to do us honour," Beric
said. "The Romans do not view these things in the same light that we do. It
is because, in their opinion, we are brave men, whom it was an honour to them
to subdue, that they have thus taken us. You see they slew all others, even
the women and children. We were captured not from pity, not because they
wished to inflict disgrace upon us, but simply as trophies of their own
valour; just as they would take a standard. We may deem ourselves aggrieved
because we have not, like the rest, died fighting to the last, and so
departed for the Happy Island; but it is the will of the gods that we should
not make the journey for a time. It is really an honour to us that they have
deemed us worthy of the trouble of capture, instead of slaying us. Like you,
I would rather a thousand times have died; but since the gods have decreed it
otherwise, it is for us to show that not even captivity can break our spirit,
but that we are able to bear ourselves as brave men who, having done all that
men could do against vastly superior force, still preserve their own esteem,
and give way neither to unmanly repinings nor to a sullen struggle against
fate.

"Nothing would please the Romans better than for us to act like wild
beasts caught in a snare, gnashing our teeth vainly when we can no longer
strike, and either sulkily protesting against our lot, or seeking to escape
the pains of death or servitude by flying from life. Let us preserve a front
haughty and unabashed. We have inflicted heavy defeats upon Rome, and are
proud of it. Let them see that the chains on our bodies have not bound our
spirit, and that, though captives, we still hold ourselves as free men,
fearless of what they can do to us. In such a way we shall win at least their
respect, and they will say these are men whom we are proud of having
overcome."

"By the sacred oak, Beric, you speak rightly," Boduoc exclaimed. "Such was
the bearing of Caractacus, as I have heard, when he fell into their hands,
and no one can say that Caractacus was dishonoured. No man can control his
fate; but, as you say, we may show that we are above fate. What say you, my
friends, has Beric spoken well?"

A murmur of hearty assent came from the other captives, and then the Roman
sergeant of the guard, uneasy at this animated colloquy among the captives,
gruffly ordered silence.

Beric translated the order. "Best sleep, if we can," he added. "We shall
be stronger tomorrow."

Few, however, slept, for all were suffering from wounds more or less
severe. The following morning their bonds were unloosed, and their wounds
carefully attended to by a leech. Then water and food were offered to them,
and of these, following Beric's example, they partook heartily. An hour later
they were placed in the centre of a strong guard, and then fell in with the
troops who were formed up to escort Suetonius to Camalodunum.

"What are they going to do to us, think you?" Boduoc asked Beric.

"They are either going to put us to death publicly at Camalodunum, as a
warning against resistance, or they are going to take us to Rome. I think the
latter. Had Suetonius been going to remain here, he might be taking us to
public execution; but as he has, as we have heard, been ordered home, he
would not, I think, have troubled himself to have made us prisoners simply
that his successor might benefit by the example of our execution. It is far
more likely, I think, that he will carry us to Rome in order to show us as
proofs that he has, before leaving Britain, succeeded in crushing out all
resistance here."

"And what will they do with us at Rome?"

"That I know not, Boduoc; possibly they will put us to death there, but
that is not their usual custom. Suetonius has gained no triumph. A terrible
disaster has fallen upon the Romans during his command here; and though he
may have avenged their defeat, he certainly does not return home in triumph.
After a triumph the chief of the captives is always put to death, sacrificed
to their gods. But as this will be no triumph, we shall, I should say, be
treated as ordinary prisoners of war. Some of these are sold as slaves; some
are employed on public works. Of some they make gladiators—men who
fight and kill each other in the arena for the amusement of the people of
Rome, who gather to see these struggles just as we do when two warriors who
have quarrelled decide their differences by combat."

"The choice does not appear a pleasing one," Boduoc said, "to be a private
or public slave, or to be killed for the amusement of the Romans."

"Well, the latter is the shortest way out of it, anyhow, and the one I
should choose; but it must be terrible to have to fight with a man with whom
one has had no quarrel," Beric said.

"Well, I don't know, Beric. If he is a captive like yourself, he must be
just as tired of life as you are. So, if he kills you he is doing you a
service; if you kill him, you have greatly obliged him. So, looking at it in
that way, it does not much matter which way it goes; for if you do him this
service one day, someone else may do you a like good turn the next."

"I had not looked at it in that way, Boduoc," Beric said, laughing. "Well,
there is one thing, I do not suppose the choice will be given us. At any rate
I shall be glad to see Rome. I have always wished to do so, though I never
thought that it would be as a captive. Still, it will be something even in
this evil that has befallen us to see so great a city with all its wonders.
Camalodunum was but as a little hamlet beside it."

On the evening of the second day after leaving Godmancastra they arrived
at Camalodunum, which in the year that had passed since its destruction, had
already been partially rebuilt and settled by Gaulish traders from the
mainland, Roman officials with their families and attendants, officers
engaged in the civil service and the army, friends and associates of the
procurator, who had been sent out to succeed Catus Decianus, priests and
servants of the temples. Suetonius had already sent to inform the new
propraetor, Petronius Turpillianus, of the success which he had gained, and a
crowd assembled as the procession was seen approaching, while all eyes were
directed upon the little party of British captives who followed the chariot
of Suetonius.

Many of the newcomers had as yet scarcely seen a native, so complete had
been the destruction of the Trinobantes, and they looked with surprise and
admiration at these men, towering a full head above their guards, and
carrying themselves, in spite of their bonds, with an air of fearless
dignity. Most of all they were surprised when they learned that the
youth—for Beric was as yet but eighteen—who walked at their head
was the noted chief, who had during the past year inflicted such heavy losses
upon the troops of Rome, and who had now only been captured by treachery. As
yet he lacked some inches of the height of his companions, but he bade fair
in another two or three years to rival the tallest among them in strength and
vigour. The procession halted before the building which had been erected from
the ruins of the old city as a residence for the propraetor. Petronius,
surrounded by a number of officials, came out to meet Suetonius.

"I congratulate you on your success, Suetonius," he said. "It will make my
task all the easier in carrying out my orders to deal mildly with the
people."

"And it will make my return to Rome all the more pleasant, Petronius, and
I thank you again for having permitted me to continue in command of my troops
until I had revenged the losses we have suffered at the hands of these
barbarians. It is, of course, for you to decide upon the fate of Beric and
his companions; assuredly they deserve death, but I should like to take them
with me as captives to Rome."

"I should prefer your doing so, Suetonius. I could hardly pardon men who
have so withstood us, but, upon the other hand, I should grieve to commence
my rule by an act of severity; besides, I hope through them to persuade the
others—for, as you told me in your letter, it is but a fraction of
these outlaws that you have subdued—to lay down their arms. It is well,
indeed, that you have taken their chief, and that he, as I hear, has partly
been brought up among us and speaks our language."

"Yes, he lived here for some five years as a hostage for his tribe. He was
under the charge of Caius Muro, who returned to Rome after our defeat of the
Britons. I made inquiries about him, when I learned that he was chief of the
insurgents, and heard that he was tractable and studious when among us, and
that Caius thought very highly of his intelligence."

"They are noble looking men," Petronius said, surveying the group of
captives; "it is an honour to conquer such men. I will speak with their chief
presently."

"I shall make no longer delay," Suetonius said. "Ships have been lying at
the port in readiness for my departure for the last two weeks, and I would
fain sail tomorrow or next day. Glad I shall be to leave this island, where I
have had nothing but fighting and hardships since I landed."

"And you have done well," Petronius said courteously. "It was but half
conquered when you landed, it is wholly subdued now. It is for me only to
gather the fruit of your victories."

"Never was there such an obstinate race," Suetonius replied angrily. "Look
at those men, they bear themselves as if they were conquerors instead of
conquered."

"They are good for something better than to be killed, Suetonius; if we
could mate all our Roman women with these fair giants, what a race we should
raise!"

"You would admire them less if you saw them pouring down on you shouting
like demons," Suetonius said sullenly.

"Perhaps so, Suetonius; but I will endeavour to utilize their strength in
our service, and not to call it into the field against us. Now, let us enter
the house. Varo," he said to one of his officers, "take charge of the
captives until Suetonius sails. Guard them strongly, but treat them well.
Place them in the house, where they will not be stared at by the crowd. If
their chief will give you his word that they will not attempt to escape,
their bonds can be removed; if not, they must remain bound."

Varo at once called a centurion of the legion in garrison at Camalodunum,
and bade him bring up his company. These on their arrival surrounded the
captives and marched with them to a guardhouse near. When they entered Varo
said to Beric:

"The orders of the propraetor are, that you shall all be released from
your bonds if you will give your oath that you will not try to escape."

Beric turned to the others and asked if they were willing to give the
promise. "In no case could we escape," he said, "you may be sure we shall be
guarded too strictly for that. It were better that we should remain bound by
our own promise than by fetters." As they all consented, Beric, in their
name, took an oath that they would not attempt to escape, so that the ropes
that bound their arms were at once taken off, and in a short time a meal was
sent to them from the house of Petronius.

Soon after they had finished an officer came in and requested Beric to
accompany him to the propraetor.

"I will bring two of my followers with me," Beric said. "I would not say
aught to the Roman governor that my tribesmen should not hear."

The officer assented, and Beric with Boduoc and another subchief followed
him to the house of the propraetor. Petronius was seated with Suetonius at
his side, while a number of officers and officials stood behind him.

"How is it, Beric," he asked, "that, as I hear, you, who speak our
language and have lived for years amongst us, come to be a leader of those
who have warred against us?"

"It is, perhaps, because I studied Roman books, and learned how you value
freedom and independence," Beric replied, "and how you revolt against
tyranny. Had Rome been conquered by a more powerful nation, every Roman would
have risen in arms had one tenth of the tyranny been practised against them
which Catus Decianus exercised against us. We have been treated worse than
the beasts of the field; our lives, our properties, and the honour of our
women were sacrificed at his will. Death was a thousand times better than
such treatment. I read that Rome has elsewhere been a worthy conqueror,
respecting the religion of the tribes it subdued, and treating them leniently
and well. Had we been so treated we should have been, if not contented,
patient under our lot, but being men we rose against the infamous treatment
to which we were subject; and although we have been conquered and well nigh
exterminated, there are Britons still remaining, and if such be the treatment
to which they are subjected it is not till the last Briton is exterminated
that you will rule this island."

A murmur of surprise at the boldness with which the young captive spoke
ran round the circle.

"Have you inquired since you arrived," Beric went on, "of the infamous
deeds of Decianus? How he seized, without the shadow of excuse, the property
of Boadicea? and how, when she came here for justice for herself and her
insulted daughters, he ordered her to be scourged? Should we, a free born
people, submit to such an indignity to our queen? I knew from the first that
our enterprise was hopeless, and that without order or discipline we must in
the end be conquered; but it was better a thousand times to die than to live
subject to treatment worse than that which you give to your slaves."

"I believe that there is justice in your complaints, Beric," Petronius
said calmly, "and it is to lessen these grievances that Rome has sent me
hither. Vengeance has been fully taken for your rebellion, it is time that
the sword was laid aside. I have already issued a proclamation granting an
amnesty to all who then rose against us. Your case was different, you have
still continued in arms and have resisted our power, but I trust that with
your capture this will end. You and your companions will go to Rome with
Suetonius; but there are many of your followers still in arms, with these I
would treat, not as a conqueror with the conquered, but as a soldier with
brave foes. If they will lay down their arms they shall share the amnesty,
and be free to return every man to his own land, to dwell there and cultivate
it free from all penalty or interruption. Their surrender would benefit not
only themselves but all the Britons. So long as they stand in arms and defy
our power we must rule the land with the sword, but when they surrender there
will be peace throughout the island, and I trust that the Britons in time
will come to look upon us as friends."

"If Rome had so acted before," Beric said, "no troubles would have arisen,
and she might now be ruling over a contented people instead of over a
desert."

"There are still many of your tribesmen in the Fens?"

"There is an army," Beric replied. "You have taken one stronghold, and
that by surprise, but the lesson will not be lost upon them. There will be no
traitors to guide your next expedition; by this time the last Fenman in the
southern swamps will have been killed. There will be a heavy vengeance taken
by my countrymen."

"I would fain put a stop to it all," Petronius said. "Upon what terms,
think you, would your countrymen surrender?"

"They will not surrender at all," Beric said; "there is not a man there
but will die rather than yield. But if you will solemnly take oath that those
who leave the Fens and return to their villages shall live unmolested, save
that they shall—when their homes are rebuilt and their herds again
grazing around them—pay a tribute such as they are able to bear, they
will, I believe, gladly leave the Fens and return to their villages, and the
fugitives who have fled north will also come back again."

"I am ready to take such an oath at the altar," Petronius said. "I have
come to bring peace to the land. I am ready to do all in my power to bring it
about; but how are they to know what I have done?"

"I would say, Petronius, let us, your captives, be present when you take
the oath. Release four of my band; choose those most sorely wounded, and who
are the least able to support the journey to Rome. I will send them with my
bracelet to the Fens. I will tell them what you have said, and they will
testify to having seen you swear before your gods; and I will send my last
injunctions to them to return again to their land, to send for the fugitives
to return from the north, and to say from me that they will return as free
men, not as slaves, and that there is no dishonour in accepting such terms as
you offer."

"I will do as you say," the Roman agreed. "Suetonius, you can spare four
of your captives, especially as there are assuredly some among them who could
ill support the fatigues of the journey. Return now to your friends, Beric;
tomorrow morning you shall meet me at the temple, and there I will take an
oath of peace with Britain."

XI. — A PRISONER

ON leaving the propraetor Beric further informed his
comrades of the offer
that Petronius had made.

"And you think he will keep his oath?" Boduoc asked.

"I am sure of it," Beric said; "he has been sent out by Rome to undo the
mischief Suetonius and Decianus have caused. His face is an honest one, and a
Roman would not lie to his gods any more than we would."

"But you ought to have made terms with them, Beric," Boduoc said. "You
ought to have made a condition that you should be allowed to stay. It matters
not for us, but you are the chief of all the Iceni who are left."

"In the first place, Boduoc, I was not in a position to make terms, seeing
that I am a captive and at their mercy; and in the next place, I would not if
I could. Think you that the tribesmen would then accept my counsels to leave
the Fens and return to their homes? They would say that I had purchased my
life and freedom from the Romans, and had agreed to betray them into their
hands."

"No one would venture to say that of you, Beric."

"You may think not, Boduoc; but if not now, in the future it would be said
that, as before I was brought up among the Romans, so now I had gone back to
them. No, even if they offered to all of us our liberty, I would say, let
those go who will, but I remain a captive. Had the message come to us when I
was free in the Fens I would have accepted it, for I knew that, although we
might struggle long, we should be finally overpowered. Moreover, the marsh
fevers were as deadly as Roman swords, and though for a year we have
supported them, we should in time, perhaps this year when the summer heats
come, have lost our strength and have melted away. Thus, had I believed that
the Romans were sincere in their wish for peace, and that they desired to see
the land tilled, I would have accepted their terms, because we were in arms
and free, and could still have resisted; but as a captive, and conquered, I
scorn to accept mercy from Rome."

By this time they had arrived at the house where the other captives were
guarded, and Beric repeated the terms that Petronius had offered.

"They will not benefit us," he said. "We are the captives of Suetonius,
and being taken with arms in our hands warring against Rome, we must pay the
penalty; but, for the sake of our brethren, I rejoice. Our land may yet be
peopled again by the Iceni, and we shall have the consolation that, whatever
may befall us, it is partly our valour that has won such terms from Rome.
There are still fifteen hundred fighting men in the swamps, and twice as many
women and children. There may be many more lurking in the Fens to the north,
for great numbers, especially from our northern districts, must have taken
refuge with the Brigantes. Thus, then, there will, when all have returned, be
a goodly number, and it is our defence of the Fenlands that has won their
freedom for them. We may be captives and slaves, but we are not dishonoured.
For months we have held Suetonius at bay, and two Romans have fallen for
every Briton; and even at last it was by treachery we were captured.

"None of us have begged our lives of Rome. We fought to the last, and
showed front when we were but twenty against two thousand. It was not our
fault that we did not die on the field, and we can hold our heads as high now
when we are captives as we did when we were free men. We know not what may be
our fate at Rome, but whatever it be, it will be a consolation to us to know
that our people again wander in the old woods; that our women are spinning by
their hearthstones; that the Iceni are again a tribe; and that it is we who
have won this for them."

An enthusiastic assent greeted Beric's words.

"Now," he said, "we must choose the four who shall carry the message. I
said those most sorely wounded, but since four are to go they can care little
who are chosen. Most of us have lost those we love, but there are some whose
wives may have been elsewhere when the attack was made. Let these stay, and
let those who have no ties save that of country go to Rome."

Only two men were found whose families had not been on the island when it
was attacked. These and the two most seriously wounded were at once chosen as
the messengers. The next morning the whole of the captives were escorted to
the temple, which was but a small building in comparison with the great
edifice that had been destroyed at the capture of Camalodunum. Here Petronius
and all the principal officers and officials were assembled. Sacrifice was
offered, and then Petronius, laying his hand on the altar, declared a solemn
peace with the Britons, and swore that, so long as they remained peaceable
subjects of Rome, no man should interfere with them, but all should be free
to settle in their villages, to till their land, and to tend their herds free
from any molestation whatever. Beric translated the words of the oath to the
Britons. Petronius then bade the four men who had been chosen stand forward,
and told them to carry his message to their countrymen.

"Enough blood has been shed on both sides," he said. "It is time for
peace. You have proved yourselves worthy and valiant enemies; let us now lay
aside the sword and live together in friendship. I sent orders last night for
the legions to leave their forts by the Fenland and to return hither, so that
the way is now open to your own land. We can settle the terms of the tribute
hereafter, but it shall not be onerous."

After leaving the temple Beric gave his messages to the men, and they at
once started under an escort for the camp, the officer in charge of them
being ordered to provide them with a boat, in which they were to proceed
alone to their countrymen.

That evening Petronius sent for Beric, and received him alone. "I am
sorry," he said, "that I cannot restore you and your companions to your
tribe, but in this I am powerless, as Suetonius has captured you, and to him
you belong. I have begged him, as a personal favour, to hand you over to me,
but he has refused, and placed as we are I can do no more. I have, however,
written to friends in Rome concerning you, and have said that you have done
all in your power to bring about a pacification of the land, and have begged
them to represent to Nero and the senate that if a report reach this island
that you have been put to death, it will undo the work of pacification, and
perhaps light up a fresh flame of war."

There had, indeed, been an angry dispute between Suetonius and his
successor. The former, although well pleased to return to Rome, was jealous
of Petronius, and was angry at seeing that he was determined to govern
Britain upon principles the very reverse of those he himself had adopted.
Moreover, he regarded the possession of the captives as important, and deemed
that their appearance in his train, as proofs that before leaving he had
completely stamped out the insurrection, would create a favourable
impression, and would go far to restore him to popular opinion. This was, as
he had heard from friends in Rome, strongly adverse to him, in consequence of
the serious disasters and heavy losses which had befallen the Roman arms
during his propraetorship, and he had therefore refused with some heat to
grant the request of Petronius.

The next morning the captives were mustered, and were marched down to the
river and placed on board a ship. There were six vessels lying in readiness,
as Suetonius was accompanied not only by his own household, but by several
officers and officials attached to him personally, and by two hundred
soldiers whose time of service had expired, and who were to form his escort
to Rome. To Beric, from his residence in Camalodunum, large ships were no
novelty, but the Britons with him were struck with astonishment at craft so
vastly exceeding anything that they had before seen.

"Could we sail in these ships to Rome?" Boduoc asked.

"You could do so, but it would be a very long and stormy voyage passing
through the straits between two mountains which the Romans call the Pillars
of Hercules. Our voyage will be but a short one. If the wind is favourable we
shall reach the coast of Gaul in two days, and thence we shall travel on
foot."

Fortunately the weather was fine, and on the third day after setting sail
they reached one of the northern ports of Gaul. When it was known that
Suetonius was on board, he was received with much pomp, and was lodged in the
house of the Roman magistrate. As he had no desire to impress the inhabitants
of the place, the captives were left unbound and marched through the streets
under a guard of the Roman spearmen. Gaul had long been completely subdued,
but the inhabitants looked at the captives with pitying eyes. When these
reached the house in which they were to be confined, the natives brought them
presents of food, bribing the Roman guards to allow them to deliver them.

As the language of the two peoples was almost identical, the Gauls had no
difficulty in making themselves understood by the captives, and asked many
questions relating to the state of affairs in Britain. They had heard of the
chief, Beric, who had for a year successfully opposed the forces of Rome, and
great was their surprise when they found that the youngest of the party was
the noted leader. Two days later they started on their long march.

Inured as the Britons were to fatigue, the daily journeys were nothing to
them. They found the country flourishing. Villages occurred at frequent
intervals, and they passed through several large towns with temples, handsome
villas, and other Roman erections similar to those that they had sacked at
the capture of Camalodunum.

"The people here do not seem to suffer under the Roman rule at any rate,"
Boduoc remarked; "they appear to have adopted the Roman dress and tongue, but
for all that they are slaves."

"Not slaves, Boduoc, though they cannot be said to be free; however, they
have become so accustomed to the Roman dominion that doubtless they have
ceased to fret under it; they are, indeed, to all intents and purposes Roman.
They furnish large bodies of troops to the Roman armies, and rise to
positions of command and importance among them. In time, no doubt, unless
misfortunes fall upon Rome, they will become as one people, and such no doubt
in the far distance will be the case with Britain. We shall adopt many of the
Roman customs, and retain many of our own. There is one advantage, you see,
in Roman dominion— there are no more tribal wars, no more massacres and
slaughters, each man possesses his land in peace and quiet."

"But what do they do with themselves?" Boduoc asked, puzzled. "In such a
country as this there can be few wild beasts. If men can neither fight nor
hunt, how are they to employ their time? They must become a nation of
women."

"It would seem so to us, Boduoc, for we have had nothing else to employ
our thoughts; but when we look at what the Romans have done, how great an
empire they have formed, how wonderful are their arts, how good their laws,
and what learning and wisdom they have stored up, one sees that there are
other things to live for; and you see, though the Romans have learned all
these things, they can still fight. If they once turn so much to the arts of
peace as to forget the virtues of war, their empire will fall to pieces more
rapidly than it has been built up."

Boduoc shook his head, "These things are well enough for you, Beric, who
have lived among the Romans and learned many of their ways. Give me a life in
which a man is a man; when we can live in the open air, hunt the wolf and the
bear, meet our enemies face to face, die as men should, and go to the Happy
Island without bothering our brains about such things as the arts and
luxuries that the Romans put such value on. A bed on the fallen leaves under
an oak tree, with the stars shining through the leaves, is better than the
finest chamber in Rome covered with paintings."

"Well, Boduoc," Beric said good temperedly, "we are much more likely to
sleep under the stars in Rome than in a grand apartment covered with
paintings; but though the one may be very nice, as you say, in summer, I
could very well put up with the other when the snow lies deep and the north
wind is howling."

They did not, as Beric had hoped, cross the tremendous mountains, over
which, as he had read in Polybius, Hannibal had led his troops against Rome.
Hannibal had been his hero. His dauntless bravery, his wonderful resources,
his cheerfulness under hardships, and the manner in which, cut off for years
from all assistance from home, he had yet supported the struggle and held
Rome at bay, had filled him with the greatest admiration, and unconsciously
he had made the great Carthaginian his model. He was therefore much
disappointed when he heard from the conversation of his guards that they were
to traverse Gaul to Massilia, and thence take ship to Rome.

The Roman guards were fond of talking to their young captive. Their
thoughts were all of Rome, from which they had been so long absent, and Beric
was eager to learn every detail about the imperial city; the days' marches
therefore passed pleasantly. At night they were still guarded, but they were
otherwise allowed much liberty, and when they stopped for two or three days
at a place they were free to wander about as they chose, their great stature,
fair hair, and blue eyes exciting more and more surprise as they went farther
south, where the natives were much shorter and swarthier than those of
northern Gaul.

One of the young officers with Suetonius had taken a great fancy to Beric,
and frequently invited him to spend the evening with him at their halting
places. When they approached Massilia he said, "I have some relations in the
city, and I will obtain leave for you to stay with me at their house while we
remain in the town, which may be for some little time, as we must wait for
shipping. My uncle is a magistrate, and a very learned man. He is engaged in
writing a book upon the religions of the world, and he seldom remains long at
any post. He has very powerful friends in Rome, and so is able to get
transferred from one post to another. He has been in almost every province of
the empire in order to learn from the people themselves their religions and
beliefs. I stayed with him for a month here two years since on my way to
Britain, and he was talking of getting himself transferred there, after he
had been among the Gauls for a year or two; but his wife was averse to the
idea, protesting that she had been dragged nearly all over the world by him,
and was determined not to go to its furthest boundaries. But I should think
that after the events of the last year he has given up that idea. I know it
will give him the greatest possible pleasure to converse with one who can
tell him all about the religions and customs of the Britons in his own
language."

Massilia was by far the largest city that the Britons had entered, and
they were greatly surprised at its magnitude, and at the varieties of people
who crowded its streets. Even Boduoc, who professed a profound indifference
for everything Roman, was stupefied when he saw a negro walking in the train
of a Roman lady of rank.

"Is it a human being, think you," he murmured in Beric's ear, "or a wild
creature they have tamed? He has not hair, but his head is covered with wool
like a black sheep."

"He is a man," Beric replied. "Across the sea to the south there are brown
men many shades darker than the people here, and beyond these like lands
inhabited by black men. Look at him showing his teeth and the whites of his
eyes. He is as much surprised at our appearance, Boduoc, as we are at his. We
shall see many like him in Rome, for Pollio tells me that they are held in
high estimation as slaves, being good tempered and obedient."

"He is hideous, Beric; look at his thick lips. But the creature looks good
tempered. I wonder that any woman could have such an one about the house. Can
they talk?"

"Oh, yes, they talk. They are men just the same as we are, except for
their colour."

"But what makes them so black, Beric?"

"That is unknown; but it is supposed that the heat of the sun, for the
country they inhabit is terribly hot, has in time darkened them. You see, as
we have gone south, the people have got darker and darker."

"But are they born that colour, Beric?"

"Certainly they are."

"If a wife of mine bore me a child of that colour," Boduoc said, "I would
strangle it. And think you that it is the heat of the sun that has curled up
their hair so tightly?"

"That I cannot say—they are all like that."

"Well, they are horrible," Boduoc said positively. "I did not think that
the earth contained such monsters."

Soon after the captives were lodged in a prison, Pollio came to see Beric,
and told him that he had obtained permission for him to lodge at his uncle's
house, he himself being guarantee for his safe custody there; accordingly
they at once started together.

The house was a large one; for, as Pollio had told Beric by the way, his
uncle was a man of great wealth, and it was a matter of constant complaint on
the part of his wife that he did not settle down in Rome. Passing straight
through the atrium, where he was respectfully greeted by the servants and
slaves, Pollio passed into the tablinum, where his uncle was sitting
writing.

"This is the guest I told you I should bring, uncle," he said. "He is a
great chief, young as he looks, and has given us a world of trouble. He
speaks Latin perfectly, and you will be able to learn from him all about the
Britons without troubling yourself and my aunt to make a journey to his
country."

Norbanus was an elderly man, short in figure, with a keen but kindly face.
He greeted Beric cordially.

"Welcome, young chief," he said. "I will try to make your stay here
comfortable, and I shall be glad indeed to learn from you about your people,
of whom, unfortunately, I have had no opportunity hitherto of learning
anything, save that when I journeyed up last year to the northwest of Gaul, I
found a people calling themselves by the same name as you. They told me that
they were a kindred race, and that your religion was similar to theirs."

"That may well be," Beric said. "We are Gauls, though it is long since we
left that country and settled in Britain. It may well be that in some of the
wars in the south of the island a tribe, finding themselves overpowered, may
have crossed to Gaul, with which country we were always in communication
until it was conquered by you. We certainly did not come thence, for all our
traditions say that the Iceni came by ship from a land lying due east from
us, and that we were an offshoot of the Belgae, whose country lay to the
northwest of Gaul."

"The people I speak of," the magistrate said, "have vast temples
constructed of huge stones placed in circles, which appear to me to have,
like the great pyramids of Egypt, an astronomical signification, for I found
that the stones round the sacrificial altars were so placed that the sun at
its rising threw its rays upon the stone only upon the longest day of
summer."

"It is so with our great temples," Beric said; "and upon that day
sacrifices are offered. What the signification of the stones and their
arrangements is I cannot say. These mysteries are known only to the Druids,
and they are strictly preserved from the knowledge of those outside the
priestly rank."

"Spare him for today, uncle," Pollio said laughing. "We are like, I hear,
to be a fortnight here before we sail; so you will have abundant time to
learn everything that Beric can tell you. I will take him up now, with your
permission, and introduce him to my aunt and cousins."

"You will find them in the garden, Pollio. Supper will be served in half
an hour. Tomorrow, Beric, we will, after breakfast, renew this conversation
that my feather brained young nephew has cut so short."

"My Aunt Lesbia will be greatly surprised when she sees you," Pollio
laughed as they issued out into the garden. "I did not see her until after I
had spoken to my uncle, and I horrified her by telling her that the noted
British chief Beric, who had defeated our best troops several times with
terrible slaughter, was coming here to remain under my charge until we sail
for Rome. She was shocked, considering that you must be a monster of
ferocity; and even my pretty cousins were terrified at the prospect. I had
half a mind to get you to attire yourself in Roman fashion, but I thought
that you would not consent. However, we shall surprise them sufficiently as
it is."

Lesbia was seated with her two daughters on couches placed under the shade
of some trees. Two or three slave girls stood behind them with fans. A
dalmatian bore hound lay on the ground in front of them. Another slave girl
was singing, accompanying herself on an instrument resembling a small harp,
while a negro stood near in readiness to start upon errands, or to fetch
anything that his mistress might for the moment fancy. Lesbia half rose from
her reclining position when she saw Pollio approaching, accompanied by a tall
figure with hair of a golden colour clustering closely round his head. The
Britons generally wore their hair flowing over their shoulders; but the Iceni
had found such inconvenience from this in making their way through the close
thickets of the swamps, that many of them—Beric among the
number—had cut their hair close to the head. With him it was but a
recurrence to a former usage, as while living among the Romans his hair had
been cut short in their fashion. The two girls, who were fifteen and sixteen
years old, uttered an exclamation of surprise as Beric came near, and Lesbia
exclaimed angrily:

"You have been jesting with us, Pollio. You told me that you were going to
bring Beric the fierce British chief here, and this young giant is but a
beardless lad."

Pollio burst into a fit of laughter, which was increased at the expression
of astonishment in Lesbia's face when Beric said, in excellent
Latin,—"Pollio has not deceived you, lady. My name is Beric, I was the
chief of the Britons, and my followers gave some trouble even to
Suetonius."

"But you are not the Beric whom we have heard of as leading the insurgent
Britons?"

"There is no other chief of my name," Beric said. "Therefore, if you heard
aught of good or evil concerning Beric the Briton, it must relate to me."

"This is Beric, aunt," Pollio said, "and you must not judge him by his
looks. I was with Suetonius in his battles against him, and I can tell you
that we held him in high respect, as we had good cause for doing, considering
that in all it cost the lives of some twelve hundred legionaries before we
could overcome him, and we took him by treachery rather than force."

"But how is it that he speaks our language?" Lesbia asked.

"I was a hostage for five years among the Romans," Beric said, "and any
knowledge I may have of the art of war was learned from the pages of Caesar,
Polybius, and other Roman writers. The Romans taught me how to fight
them."

"And now," Pollio broke in, "I must introduce you in proper form. This is
my Aunt Lesbia, as you see; these are my cousins Aemilia and Ennia. Do you
know, girls, that these Britons, big and strong as they are, are ruled by
their women. These take part in their councils, and are queens and
chieftainesses, and when it is necessary they will fight as bravely as the
men. They are held by them in far higher respect than with us, and I cannot
say that they do not deserve it, for they think of other things than attiring
themselves and spending their time in visits and pleasure."

"You are not complimentary, Pollio," Aemilia said; "and as to attire, the
young Romans think as much of it as we do, and that without the same excuse,
for we are cut off from public life, and have none save home pursuits. If you
treat us as you say the Britons treat their women, I doubt not that we should
show ourselves as worthy of it."

"Now I ask you fairly, Aemilia, can you fancy yourself encouraging the
legionaries in the heat of battle, and seizing spear and shield and rushing
down into the thick of the fight as I have seen the British women do?"

"No, I cannot imagine that," Aemilia said laughing. "I could not bear the
weight of a shield and spear, much less use them in battle. But if the
British women are as much bigger and stronger than I am, as Beric is bigger
and stronger than you are, I can imagine their fighting. I wondered how the
Britons could withstand our troops, but now that I see one of them there is
no difficulty in comprehending it, and yet you do not look fierce,
Beric."

"I do not think that I am fierce," Beric said smiling; "but even the most
peaceful animal will try and defend itself when it is attacked."

"Have you seen Norbanus?" Lesbia asked.

"He has seen him," Pollio replied; "and if it had not been for me he would
be with him still, for my uncle wished to engage him at once in a discourse
upon the religion and customs of his people; I carried Beric away almost
forcibly."

Lesbia sighed impatiently. The interest of her husband in these matters
was to her a perpetual source of annoyance. It was owing to this that she so
frequently travelled from one province to another, instead of enjoying
herself at the court in Rome. But although in all other matters Norbanus gave
way to her wishes, in this he was immovable, and she was forced to pass her
life in what she considered exile. She ceased to take any further interest in
the conversation, but reclined languidly on her couch, while Pollio gave his
cousins a description of his life in Britain, and Beric answered their
numerous questions as to his people. Their conversation was interrupted by a
slave announcing that supper was ready, and Lesbia was relieved at finding
that Beric thoroughly understood Roman fashions, and comported himself at
table as any other guest would have done. The girls sat down at the meal,
although this was contrary to usual custom; but Norbanus insisted that his
family should take their meals with him, save upon occasions of a set
banquet.

"It seems wonderful," Ennia said to her sister later on, "that we should
have been dining with the fierce chief of whom we have heard so much, and
that he should be as courteous and pleasant and well mannered as any young
Roman."

"A good deal more pleasant than most of them," Aemilia said, "for he puts
on no airs, and is just like a merry, good tempered lad, while if a young
Roman had done but a tithe of the deeds he has he would be insufferable. We
must get Pollio to take us tomorrow to see the other Britons. They must be
giants indeed, when Beric, who says he is but little more than eighteen
years, could take Pollio under his arm and walk away with him."

In the morning, accordingly, Pollio started with his two cousins to the
prison, while Beric sat down for a long talk with Norbanus in his study.
Beric soon saw that the Roman viewed all the matters on which he spoke from
the standpoint of a philosopher without prejudices.

After listening to all that Beric could tell him about the religion of the
Britons, he said, "It is remarkable that all people appear to think that they
have private deities of their own, who interest themselves specially on their
behalf, and aid them to fight their battles. I have found no exception to
this rule, and the more primitive the people the more obstinate is this
belief. In Rome at present the learned no longer believe in Jupiter and Mars
and the rest of the deities, though they still attend the state ceremonies at
the temples, holding that a state religion is necessary. The lower class
still believe, but then they cannot be said to reason. In Greece scepticism
is universal among the upper class, and the same may now be said of Egypt.
Our Roman belief is the more unaccountable since we have simply borrowed the
religion of the Greeks, the gods and their attributes being the same, with
only a change of name; and yet we fancy that these Greek gods are the special
patrons of Rome.

"Your religion seems to me the most reasonable of any I have studied, and
approaches more nearly than any other to the highest speculations of the
Greek philosophers. You believe in one God, who is invisible and impersonal,
who pervades all nature; but having formed so lofty an idea of him, you
belittle him by making him a special god of your own country, while if he
pervades all nature he must surely be universal. The Jews, too, believe in a
single God, and in this respect they resemble you in their religion, which is
far more reasonable than that of nations who worship a multiplicity of
deities; but they too consider that their God confines His attention simply
to them, and rules over only the little tract they call their own—a
province about a hundred miles long, by thirty or forty wide. From them
another religion has sprung. This has made many converts, even in Rome, but
has made no way whatever among the learned, seeing that it is more strange
and extravagant than any other. It has, however, the advantage that the new
God is, they believe, universal, and has an equal interest in all people. I
have naturally studied the tenets of this new sect, and they are singularly
lofty and pure. They teach among other things that all men are equal in the
sight of God—a doctrine which naturally gains for them the approval of
slaves and the lower people, but, upon the other hand, brings them into
disfavour with those in power.

"They are a peaceful sect, and would harm no one; but as they preach that
fighting is wrong, I fear that they will before long come into collision with
the state, for, were their doctrines to spread, there would soon be a lack of
soldiers. To me it appears that their views are impracticable on this
subject. In other respects they would make good citizens, since their
religion prescribes respect to the authorities and fair dealing in all
respects with other men. They are, too, distinguished by charity and kindness
towards each other. One peculiarity of this new religion is, that although
springing up in Judaea, it has made less progress among the Jews than
elsewhere, for these people, who are of all others the most obstinate and
intolerant, accused the Founder of the religion, one Christus, before the
Roman courts, and He was put to death, in my opinion most unjustly, seeing
that there was no crime whatever alleged against Him, save that He perverted
the religion of the Jews, which was in no way a concern of ours, as we are
tolerant of the religions of all people."

"That is quite true," Norbanus said, "but his had nothing whatever to do
with the religion, but was simply because the priests stirred up insurrection
against us. We have temples in Rome to the deities of almost every nation we
have subdued, and have suffered without objection the preachers of this new
doctrine to make converts. The persecutions that have already begun against
the sect are not because they believe in this Christus, but because they
refuse to perform the duties incumbent upon all Roman citizens. Two of my
slaves belong to the sect. They know well that I care not to what religion
they belong, and indeed, for my part, I should be glad to see all my slaves
join them, for the moral teaching is high, and these slaves would not steal
from me, however good the opportunity. That is more than I can say of the
others. Doubtless, had I been fixed in Rome, the fact that they belonged to
these people would have been kept a secret, but in the provinces no one
troubles his head about such matters. These are, to my mind, matters of
private opinion, and they have leave from me to go on their meeting days to
the place where they assemble, for even here there are enough of them to form
a gathering.

"So long as this is done quietly it is an offence to no one. The matter
was discussed the other day among us, for orders against Christians came from
Rome; but when the thing was spoken of I said that, as I believed members of
the sect were chiefly slaves, who were not called upon to perform military
duties, I could not deem that the order applied to them, and that as these
were harmless people, and their religion taught them to discharge their duty
in all matters save that of carrying arms, I could not see why they should be
interfered with. Moreover, did we move in the matter, and did these people
remain obstinate in their Faith, we might all of us lose some valuable
slaves. After that no more was said of the matter. Now tell me about your
institution of the bards, of which I have heard. These men seem not only to
be the depositors of your traditions and the reciters of the deeds of your
forefathers, but to hold something of a sacred position intermediate between
the Druids and the people."

For some hours Beric and his host conversed on these subjects, Beric
learning more than he taught, and wondering much at the wide knowledge
possessed by Norbanus. It was not until dinner was announced that the Roman
rose.

"I thank you much, Beric, for what you have told me, and I marvel at the
interest that you, who have for the last two years been leading men to
battle, evince in these matters. After five minutes of such talk my nephew
Pollio would begin to weary."

"I was fond of learning when I was in the household of Caius Muro, but my
time was chiefly occupied by the study of military works and in military
exercises; still I found time to read all the manuscripts in Muro's library.
But I think I learned more from the talk of Cneius Nepo, his secretary, who
was my instructor, than from the books, for he had travelled much with Muro,
and had studied Greek literature."

Pollio had returned some time before with his cousins.

"I would have come in before to carry you away," he whispered to Beric as
they proceeded to the dinner table, "but it would have put out my uncle
terribly, and as I knew you would have to go through it all I thought it as
well that you should finish with it at once."

"I am glad you did not," Beric replied. "It has been a great pleasure to
me to listen to your uncle's conversation, from which I have learned a good
deal."

Pollio glanced up to see if Beric was joking. Seeing that he spoke in
perfect good faith, he said:

"Truly, Beric, you Britons are strange fellows. I would rather go through
another day's fighting in your swamps than have to listen to uncle for a
whole morning."

As they sat down he went on:

"The girls are delighted with your Britons, Beric. They declare they are
not only the biggest but the handsomest men they ever saw, and I believe that
if your lieutenant Boduoc had asked either of them to return with him and
share his hut in the swamps they would have jumped at the offer."

The girls both laughed.

"But they are wonderful, Beric," Aemilia said. "When you told us that you
were not yet full grown I thought you were jesting, but I see now that truly
these men are bigger even than you are. I wish I had such golden hair as most
of them have, and such a white skin. Golden hair is fashionable in Rome, you
know, but it is scarce, except in a few whose mothers were Gauls who have
married with Romans."

"It is the nature of man to admire the opposite to himself," Norbanus
said. "You admire the Britons because they are fair, while to them,
doubtless, Roman women would appear beautiful because their hair and their
eyes are dark."

"But Beric has not said so, father," Aemilia said laughing.

"I am not accustomed to pay compliments," Beric said with a smile, "but
assuredly your father is right. I have been accustomed for the last two years
to see British maidens only. These are fair and tall, some of them well nigh
as tall as I, and as they live a life of active exercise, they are healthy
and strong."

"That they are," Pollio broke in. "I would as soon meet a soldier of the
Goths as one of these maidens Beric speaks of, when her blood is up. I have
seen our soldiers shrink from their attack, when, with flashing eyes and hair
streaming behind them, they rush down upon us, armed with only stones and
billets of wood that they had snatched up. What they may be in their gentler
moments I know not, and I should hesitate to pay my court to one, for, if she
liked it not, she would make small difficulty in throwing me outside the door
of her hut."

"You are too quick, Pollio," Aemilia said. "Beric was about to compare us
with them."

"The comparison is difficult," Beric said; "but you must not imagine our
women as being always in the mood in which Pollio has seen them. They were
fighting, not for their lives, but in order to be killed rather than fall
into the hands of your soldiers. Ordinarily they are gentle and kind. They
seemed to Pollio to be giantesses, but they bear the same proportion to our
height as you do to the height of the Roman men."

"I meant not to say aught against them," Pollio broke in hastily. "I meant
but to show my cousins how impossible it was for you to make any comparison
between our women and yours. All who know them speak well of the British
women, and admire their devotion to their husbands and children, their
virtue, and bravery. You might as well compare a Libyan lioness with a
Persian cat as the British women with these little cousins of mine."

"But the Persian cat has, doubtless, its lovable qualities," Beric said
smiling. "It is softer and gentler and better mannered than the lioness,
though, perhaps, the lion might not think so. But truly your Roman ladies are
beyond comparison with ours. Ours live a life of usefulness, discharging
their duties as mistress of the household, intent upon domestic cares, and
yet interested as ourselves in all public affairs, and taking a share in
their decision. Your ladies live a life of luxury. They are shielded from all
trouble. They are like delicate plants by the side of strong saplings. No
rough air has blown upon them. They are dainty with adornments gathered from
the whole world, and nature and art have combined alike to make them
beautiful."

"All of which means, Aemilia," Pollio laughed, "that, in Beric's opinion,
you are pretty to look at, but good for nothing else."

"I meant not that," Beric said eagerly, "only that the things you are good
for are not the things which British women are good for. You have no occasion
to be good housewives, because you have slaves who order everything for you.
But you excel in many things of which a British woman never so much as heard.
There is the same difference that there is between a cultured Roman and one
of my tribesmen."

"Human nature is the same everywhere," Norbanus said, "fair or dark, great
or small. It is modified by climate, by education, by custom, and by
civilization, but at bottom it is identical. And now, Pollio, I think you had
better take Beric down to the port, the sight of the trade and shipping will
be new to him."

XII. — A SCHOOL FOR GLADIATORS

AS the vessels carrying Suetonius, his suite, and captives
sailed up the
Tiber it was met by a galley bearing the orders of the senate that Suetonius
was not to traverse the streets with an armed suite and captives in his
train, but was to land as a private person; that the soldiers were to march
to the barracks on the Capitoline, where they would receive their arrears of
pay and be disbanded; and that the captives were to be handed over to a
centurion, who with his company would be at the landing place to receive
them. Pollio took the news to Beric, who was on board the same ship, the rest
of the captives being with the soldiers in the vessel which followed.

"I am rejoiced, indeed," he said, "for although I knew that the general
would not receive a triumph, I feared that if he made a public entry it was
possible there might be a public outcry for your life, which would, by our
custom, have been forfeited had there been a triumph. I doubt not that the
hand of Petronius is in this; his messengers would have arrived here weeks
ago, and it may be that letters despatched as much as a month after we left
have preceded us. Doubtless he would have stated that his clemency had had
the desired effect, and that all trouble was at an end; he may probably have
added that this was partly due to your influence, and warned them that were
you put to death it would have a deplorable effect among your people and
might cause a renewal of trouble. Suetonius is furious, for he has hoped much
from the effect his entry with captives in his train would have produced. He
has powerful enemies here; scarce a noble family but has lost a connection
during the troubles in Britain, and Suetonius is of course blamed for it. You
and I know that, although he has borne himself harshly towards the Britons,
the rising was due to Catus rather than to him, but as Catus is a creature of
Nero the blame falls upon Suetonius."

"It was the deeds of Catus that caused the explosion," Beric said; "but it
would have come sooner or later. It was the long grinding tyranny that had
well nigh maddened us, that drove Caractacus first to take up arms, that
raised the western tribes, and made all feel that the Roman yoke was
intolerable. The news of the massacre of the Druids and the overthrow of our
altars converted the sullen discontent into a burning desire for revenge, and
the insult to Boadicea was the signal rather than the cause of the rising. It
is to the rule of Suetonius that it is due that hundreds of thousands of
Britons, Romans, and their allies have perished."

"The fault of Suetonius," Pollio said, "was that he was too much of a
soldier. He thought of military glory, and left all other matters, save the
leading of his troops, in the hands of his civilians. Petronius is a general,
but he has distinguished himself more in civil matters. Two generals have
been sent out with him, to lead the troops if necessary, but he has been
chosen as an administrator."

"They should have sent him out ten years ago," Beric said, "and there then
would have been no occasion for generals."

They were now approaching Rome, and Beric's attention was entirely
occupied by the magnificent scene before him, and with the sight of the
temples and palaces rising thickly upon the seven hills. Massilia had
surprised him by its size and splendour, but beside Rome it was only a
village. "Rome would do well," he said to Pollio, "to bring the chiefs of
every conquered country hither; the sight would do more than twenty legions
to convince them of the madness of any efforts to shake off the Roman
yoke."

"I will see you tomorrow," Pollio said as they neared the landing place.
"I shall see many of my friends today, and get them to interest themselves in
your behalf. I will find out for you where Caius Muro is at present;
doubtless he too will do what he can for you, seeing that you lived so long
in his charge;" for Beric had not mentioned to his friend aught of the manner
in which he had saved Muro's daughter at the sack of Camalodunum.

As soon as the centurion came on board Pollio recommended Beric to his
care, saying that he was the chief of the party of British captives, and that
during the journey he had formed a close friendship with him.

"I shall not be in charge of him long," the centurion said. "I have but to
hand him over to the governor of the prison, but I will tell him what you
have said to me. He must now go on board the other ship and join his
companions, for my orders are that they are not to be landed until after
dark." Pollio nodded to Beric; this was another proof that it was determined
the populace should not be excited in favour of Suetonius by the passage of
the captives through the streets.

Beric rejoined his companions. "Well, Boduoc, what think you of Rome?"

"I have been thinking how mad our enterprise was, Beric. You told me about
the greatness of Rome and from the first predicted failure, but I thought
this was because you had been infected by your Roman training; I see now that
you were right. Well, and what do you think is going to be done with us?"

"It is evident there is going to be no public display of us, Boduoc.
Suetonius is at present in disgrace, and we shall be either sent into the
school for gladiators, or set to work at some of the palaces Nero is
building."

"They may do what they like," Boduoc said, "but I will not fight for their
amusement. They may train me if they like and send me into the arena, but if
they do I will not lift sword, but will bid my opponent slay me at once."

There was a murmur of assent from some of the others; but another who
said, "Well, I would rather die fighting anyway than work as a slave at Roman
palaces," found a response from several.

The next day they were marched up to Nero's palace.

Surprised as they might be by the splendour of the streets they traversed,
and by the grandeur and magnificence of the palace, they betrayed no sign
whatever of their feelings, but marched through the vast halls with their
wealth of marble and adornments with calm and unmoved faces. At last they
reached the audience hall, where the emperor was seated with a throng of
courtiers behind him.

Nero was five-and-twenty, but looked older, for his dissolute habits had
already left their marks upon his features. He had an air of good temper, and
a rough frankness of manner that rendered him popular among the mass of the
people, whom he courted by every means in his power, distributing with lavish
hand the wealth he gained by confiscation and spoliation of the rich. The
Britons bowed deeply before him and then stood upright and fearless.

"By Hercules," the emperor said to the councillor standing next to him,
"but these are grand men! No wonder Suetonius has had such trouble in
subduing them. And this young man is their chief? Truly, as Petronius said in
his letter, he is but a lad. You speak our language too?" he went on,
addressing Beric.

"I was brought up as a hostage among the Romans," he replied, "and was
instructed in their language and literature."

"Then you should have known better than to rise against us, young
chief."

"Two years ago I was but a boy, Caesar," Beric replied, "scarce deemed old
enough to fight, much less to give an opinion in the presence of my elders. I
was well aware that the struggle must end in our defeat; but when the chiefs
of my nation decided for war, I had nought to do but to go with them."

"But how is it, then, that you came to command so many, and became in time
the leader of so large a band?"

"It was because I had studied your military books, and knew that only by
an irregular warfare could we hope to prolong our existence. It was no longer
an insurrection; we were simply fugitives trying to sell our lives dearly. If
Suetonius had offered us terms we would gladly have laid down our arms, but
as he simply strove to destroy us we had, like animals brought to bay, to
fight for our own lives. The moment Petronius offered to allow my people to
return to their homes and pay tribute to Rome I advised them to submit."

"So Petronius tells me, and he has said much to excuse your conduct.

"I would I could enlist this band as my bodyguard," Nero said in a low
voice, turning to his councillor, "but the praetorian guards are jealous of
their privileges, and none save a Roman can be enrolled in their ranks."

"It would be dangerous, Caesar; the praetorians are well affected to your
majesty, and in these days when there are so many ambitious generals at the
head of armies it would be unwise to anger them."

"Then we will send them to the schools to be trained. Send this lad with
the four best of the others to Scopus, and divide the rest among three other
schools. The Romans have never seen such men as these in the arena. We must
not spoil it by matching them at present with men whose skill more than makes
up for their want of strength. Two years in the schools will make marvels of
them. The lad will want more than that before he gains his full bulk and
strength, but he will some day turn out such a gladiator as Rome has never
seen; and if after a time we can find no champion to withstand him, we can
match him against the lions. I will myself give Scopus orders concerning
him."

So saying he waved his hand. The guards closed round the captives and they
were led away.

"What is it all about, Beric?" Boduoc asked.

"We are to go to the school for gladiators," Beric said; "but as the
emperor considers that you will all need two years' training at the exercises
before you will be fit to appear in the ring, we shall have time to think
matters over. Much may happen before that. Nero may be liked by the mass of
the people, but he is hated and feared, as I hear, by the upper classes. He
may be assassinated or overthrown before that."

"I don't see that it will make much difference to us," Boduoc
grumbled.

"I don't know that it would. At any rate we have time before us. We shall
be well taken care of, well fed, and have plenty of exercise. Before now the
gladiators have shaken Rome to its centre. What has happened once may happen
again."

As they passed along the streets of Rome the news that a party of fair
haired giants were being escorted under a guard spread rapidly, and a crowd
soon filled the streets. Windows opened and ladies looked curiously down at
the procession. Beric marched at the head of his party, who followed four
abreast, and their air of calmness and self possession, their proud bearing,
and the massive strength of their figures roused the admiration of the
multitude, who, on learning from the guards that the captives were Britons,
greeted them with shouts of approval. So thick became the crowd before they
reached their destination, that the Roman soldiers had difficulty in forcing
their way through. As they turned into the street in which stood the great
school of Scopus the crowd at once guessed the destination of the
captives.

"By all the gods!" one of the lookers on said, "these fellows will furnish
us with grand sport in the arena."

"It is a shame to turn such grand looking men into gladiators," a woman
said.

"What, would you like to pick a husband out among them, dame?" the first
speaker laughed.

"I would not mind. At any rate, I would prefer any of them to such an ill
looking scarecrow as you," she retorted. "It is bad enough when they kill off
some of those Gauls, who are far too good for such work; but the best of them
I have seen in the arena lacks six inches, both in height and breadth of
shoulder, of these Britons."

"Ah!" the man grumbled, "that is always the way with women; they think of
nothing but strength."

"Why shouldn't we? Men think of nothing but beauty."

And so, amid a chorus of remarks, for the most part complimentary, the
Britons strode along, surrounded by their escort, until they reached the
entrance to the school of Scopus. The master, attracted by the noise in the
street, was standing at the entrance. He was a broad built man, but without
an ounce of superfluous flesh, with muscles and sinews standing up in knots
and ridges, and evidently possessed of extreme activity as well as
strength.

"Nero has sent you five fresh scholars, Scopus."

"They are Britons."

"Ah! Yes, Claudius brought back a few with him, but that was before I was
here. I would they were all a few years younger. They are in their prime now;
and to make a man first class, one should begin with him young. This
youngster here is just the age. I warrant me there will not be many who can
hold their own against him when I have trained him."

"He is their chief," the centurion said, "and speaks our language as well
as you do."

"That is good. I can speak a little Gaulish; but there is always trouble
with newcomers from out of the way countries when we have no one who speaks
their language."

"Well, I will leave them with you; they are in your charge. I have the
other fifteen to divide among three other schools."

"I will take care of them," Scopus said. "There is good feeding and good
drinking here, and no one runs away. There is nowhere to run to, that is one
thing. Still, what could a man want more than to be well housed, well fed,
and have the companionship of plenty of good fellows? Don't you think so?"
and he turned to Beric.

"It is of no use asking for more if one is not likely to get it; certainly
we might do worse."

Beric and his companions took a hearty farewell of the others, Beric
telling them that doubtless they would have frequent occasions of meeting; he
then followed Scopus into a large hall. Here some forty or fifty men were
assembled. Some were swinging weights round their heads, others were engaged
at gymnastic exercises. Two men, under the direction of an instructor, were
fighting with blunted swords; one great fellow, armed with sword and shield,
was hotly pursuing an active man of little over half his weight, carrying a
trident in one hand and a net in the other, amid the laughter of a group
watching them.

At the entrance of Scopus and his companions the proceedings were
arrested.

"Here are some fresh hands," Scopus said, "who have come to fill up the
vacancies made in the games ten days since. They are Britons, and I should
imagine will require a lot of training before they are fit for the arena. One
of them talks Latin. The rest, I fancy, will have, for the present, to
content themselves with the companionship of you Gauls, who are, as I
believe, of kindred race, though it seems to me that either you must have
fallen off in size, or they have increased since you separated."

Some seven or eight Gauls stepped forward and addressed the Britons, and
the latter, glad to find men who could speak their language, responded
heartily. The gladiators were of many races. Besides the Gauls there were
four or five Goths; some Iberians, lean swarthy men; Numidians, fleet of
foot, lithe and active—these were used more often for contests with
wild beasts than in the gladiatorial conflicts, for which they lacked
strength and weight— Parthians and Scythians, together with a score of
natives of Italy, Romans and others, who had taken to the profession of
gladiator as they might have done to any other calling.

"Now," Scopus said to Beric, "you are free of the place; there are no
prisoners here. There are regular hours and exercises; but beyond that your
time is your own, to walk in the city, to see the shows, or to remain here.
As you see, all here dress somewhat after Roman fashion, so that as they go
abroad they may not be stared at. There is no obligation that way, but it is
more comfortable. There are upwards of a hundred schools in Rome. Some are
larger than mine, and some smaller, but there is not one that stands higher.
When one of my men enters the ring the audience know that they are going to
see good sport."

"Do we have to fight against each other, or against strangers?"

"Against strangers," Scopus said. "When there is going to be a show day,
so many schools are warned to send three or four men, as the case may be, and
the master of ceremonies matches them against each other. Sometimes there may
be ten couples, sometimes forty or fifty, it depends whether it is a great
occasion or not; and of course each school hopes to see its champions win.
That fellow you saw running with a net, he is a Scythian, and so quick and
nimble that he always gets away, and is ready for a throw again before his
opponent can overtake him. He is a great favourite of the public, for he has
been in the arena twelve times and has always conquered."

"What do you consider to be the best weapon—the trident or the
sword?"

"If a man is active without being strong, I should make a retiarius of
him," Scopus said. "If he is strong without being active, he would naturally
fight with sword and buckler. Then there is the caestus, but the Romans do
not care for that, though, to my mind, it is the finest of all the exercises;
for that both strength and activity are required, but it is not bloody enough
for the Romans. Perhaps the thing that demands the greatest skill and nerve
and strength at the same time is to fight wild beasts. However, we settle
none of these things at first. After a few months' training we see what a
man's capabilities are, and what he himself has a fancy for. I always let a
man choose, if he has any very strong wish in the matter, for he is sure to
succeed best in that. There are many who, even with all my care, never turn
out first class. These are reserved to fight in what may be called general
contests, which have become popular lately, ten against ten, or fifty against
fifty. On two or three grand occasions there have been as many as a thousand
engaged. For these no particular skill is required; it is one side against
the other. Lastly, there are a few who turn out so useless that it would be a
waste of pains to try to make anything of them. These are sent to the
galleys, or to the public works."

"You never find any unwilling to learn?" Beric said.

"Not one," the man said carelessly. "A man has to defend himself, and even
with blunt swords he will get awkward cracks if he cannot protect his head.
Besides, in the arena a man's life depends upon his skill, and the conquered
is sure to have no mercy shown him unless he has borne himself well.
Therefore, each man is anxious to learn. I have had a few obstinate fellows,
for the most part Goths, who would do nothing. I simply send them down to the
galleys, and I warrant me that they are not long in finding out what fools
they have been, and would give a good deal to exchange their beds of hard
boards and their coarse food for a life of pleasure and freedom here."

"As long as it lasts," Beric said.

"Yes, as long as it lasts. But with all its dangers it is likely to last
as long as that of a galley slave. What with bad food and hardship and toil
and the taskmaster's whip and the burning sun, a galley slave's life is a
short one; while a skilful gladiator may live for many years, and in time
save money enough to set up a school as I have done."

"Were you a gladiator once?" Beric asked.

"Certainly I was; and so were all the masters of the schools, except,
perhaps, a few Greeks, whose methods differ from ours.

"I was ten years in the arena, and fought thirty-five battles. In thirty I
was victorious, in the other five I was defeated; but as I was a favourite,
and always made a good fight, the thumbs were turned up, which, as you may
know, is the signal for mercy."

"Are you a Roman?"

"No, I am a Thessalian. I took to it young, having got into trouble at
home. We have blood feuds there, and having killed the chief of a house with
which my people had a quarrel I had to fly, and so made to Pola. Thence I
crossed to Brundusium. I worked there in the dockyard for a year or two; but
I was never fond of hard work of that sort, so I came on here and entered a
school. Now, as you see, I am master of one. A gladiator who distinguishes
himself gets many presents, and I did well. The life is not a bad one after
all."

"It must be hateful having to fight with men with whom you have no
quarrel," Beric said.

"You don't feel that after the first minute or two," Scopus laughed.
"There is a man standing opposite to you with a sword or a trident, and you
know very well that if you do not kill him, he is going to kill you. It makes
very little difference, after you once face each other, whether there was any
quarrel between him and you beforehand or not; the moment the fighting
begins, there is an end of all nonsense of that sort.

"What is an enemy? A man who wants to do you harm. This man facing you is
going to kill you, unless you kill him. There cannot be a worse enemy than
that. After all, it is just the same with soldiers in a battle. They have no
particular quarrel with the men facing them; but directly the arrows begin to
fly, and a storm of javelins come singing through the air, you think of
nothing but of trying to kill the men who are trying to kill you. I thought
as you do before I entered the arena the first time, but I never felt so
afterwards. All these things are matters of usage, and the gladiator, after
his first combat, enters the ring with just the same feeling as a soldier
marches to meet an enemy."

Beric was silent. He had no doubt that there was some truth in what Scopus
said; his own experience in battle had shown him this. But he was still
determined in his mind that, come what would, he would not fight for the
amusement of the Romans. But it was of no use to say this now; it might be a
long time before he was required to enter the arena, and until then he might
as well apply himself to gaining strength and science in arms. It did not
seem to him that there was any possibility of escape, but he might at least
take to the woods, and stand at bay there, and be killed in a fair open
fight. The next morning the exercises began. They were at first of a moderate
character, and were only intended to strengthen the muscles and add to the
endurance. For the first six months they were told that their work would
consist only of gymnastic exercises—lifting weights, wielding heavy
clubs, climbing ropes, wrestling, and running on foot. Their food was simple
but plentiful. All adopted the Roman costume, in order to avoid observation
when they went abroad. Being a strong body, and individually formidable, they
were free from the rough jokes generally played upon newcomers, and when,
after six hours of exercise, they sat down to a hearty dinner, the general
feeling among them was that things were better than they expected, and the
life of a gladiator, with the exception of his appearances in the arena, was
by no means a bad one. Pollio called in the afternoon, as he had promised,
and had a long talk with Beric.

"In the first place, I have some bad news for you, Beric. Caius Muro
remained here but a month after his return from Britain, and was then sent to
command the legion in the north of Syria."

"That is bad news indeed, Pollio. I had looked forward to seeing him. I
had made sure that I should find one friend at least in Rome."

"It is unfortunate indeed, Beric, for he would have spoken for you, and
might have obtained a better lot for you. I hate seeing you here," he said
passionately, "but it is better than being executed at once, which is the lot
that generally befalls the chief of captives taken in war. Scopus is not a
bad fellow when things go well, but they say that he is a fiend when his
blood is up. He is one of the finest fighters we ever had in the arena,
though he left it before I was old enough to go there. I know him well,
however, for I used to come here with my elder brother, who was killed four
years ago in Africa. It is quite the fashion among the young Romans to go the
round of the schools and see the gladiators practising, and then when the
sports come on they bet on the men they consider the most skilful."

"A fine sport," Beric said sarcastically.

"Well, you see, Beric, we have been bred up to it, and we wager upon it
just as you Britons do on your fights between cocks. I never felt any
hesitation about it before, because I had no particular personal interest in
any of the combatants. After all, you know, life is dull in Rome for those
who take no part in politics, who have no ambition to rise at the court, and
who do not care overmuch for luxury. We have none of the hunting with which
you harden your muscles and pass your time in Britain. Therefore it is that
the sports of the arena are so popular with our class as well as with that
below it. You must remember, too, that the greater portion of the gladiators
are captives taken in war, and would have been put to death at once had they
not been kept for this."

"I do not say they have anything to complain of, Pollio, but I am sure
that most of them would much rather perish in battle than be killed in the
arena."

"Yes, but it is not a question of being killed in battle, Beric; it is a
question of being captured in battle and put to death afterwards. It may be
the fashion some day or other to treat captives taken in war with generosity
and honour, but it certainly is not so at present, either with us or with any
other nation that I know of. I don't think that your people differ from the
rest, for every soul who fell into their hands was slain."

"I quite admit that," Beric said; "and should have had no cause for
complaint had I been slain as soon as I was captured. But there is something
nobler in being killed as a victim of hate by a victorious enemy than to have
to fight to the death as a holiday amusement."

"I admit that," Pollio said, "and though, since Nero came to the throne,
there has been an increase in these gladiatorial displays, methinks there are
fewer now than in the days before the Empire, when Spartacus led twenty
thousand gladiators against Rome. There is one thing, if the creed of those
Jews of whom Norbanus was speaking to you ever comes to be the dominant
religion, there will be an end to the arena, for so averse are these people
to fighting, that when placed in the arena they will not make even an effort
to defend themselves. They do not, as do the Goths sometimes, lower their
swords and fall on the points. Suicide they consider wrong, and simply wait
calmly like sheep to be killed. I have been talking with some friends over
the persecutions of two years ago, just after I left for Britain, and they
say it was wonderful to see the calmness with which the Christians meet
death. They say the persecution was given up simply because the people became
sick of spectacles in which there was no interest or excitement. Well, Beric,
are you ready to go out with me?"

"You will not be ashamed to walk through the streets with a gladiator,
Pollio?"

"Ashamed! on the contrary, you must know that gladiators are in fashion at
present, Beric. The emperor prides himself on his skill, and consorts greatly
with gladiators, and has even himself fought in the arena, and therefore it
is the thing with all who are about the court to affect the society of
gladiators. But as yet you are not one of them although you may have
commenced your training for the arena. But fashion or not, it would have made
no difference to me, you are my friend whatever evil fortune may have done
for you. The only difference is that whereas, had you not been in fashion, I
should have taken you with me only to the houses of intimate friends, as I
did at Massilia, now you will be welcome everywhere. Besides, Beric, even in
Rome a chief who has kept Suetonius at bay for a year, and who is, moreover,
a Latin scholar accustomed to Roman society, is recognized as being an object
of great interest, especially when he is young and good looking. I am glad to
see that you have adopted clothes of our fashion; they set you off to much
better advantage than does the British garb, besides attracting less
attention."

"I hope that you are not going to take me today to meet any people,
Pollio; I want to see the temples and public buildings."

"It shall be just as you wish, Beric."

For hours Beric wandered about Rome with Pollio, so interested in all he
saw that he was scarce conscious of the attention he himself attracted. From
time to time they met acquaintances of Pollio, who introduced them to Beric
as "my friend the chief of the Iceni, who cost us a year's hard work and some
twelve hundred men before we captured him. Petronius has written so strongly
to Nero in his favour that his life has been spared, and he has been placed
in the school of Scopus;" and the languid young Romans, looking at Beric's
height and proportions, no longer wondered at the trouble that the Roman
legions had had in overcoming the resistance of a mere handful of barbarians.
Beric on his part was by no means surprised at the appearance of these young
courtiers. He had seen many of the same type at Camalodunum, and had heard
Caius lament the effeminacy of the rising generation; but he knew that these
scented young nobles could, if necessary, buckle on armour and fight as
valiantly as the roughest soldier; though why they should choose to waste
their lives at present in idleness, when there was so much work to be done in
every corner of the vast empire, was altogether beyond his comprehension.

"Why is there a crowd gathered round that large building?" he asked
Pollio.

"That is one of the public granaries. Corn is brought here in vast
quantities from Sardinia and Sicily, from Spain and Africa, and since Nero
came to the throne it is distributed gratis to all who choose to apply for
it. No wonder Nero is popular among the people; he feeds them and gives them
shows— they want nothing more. It is nothing to them, the cruelties he
exercises upon the rich."

"But it must encourage the people in lazy habits," Beric said.

Pollio shrugged his shoulders. "They think because they are citizens of
the capital of the world they have a right to live in idleness, and that
others should work for them. At any rate it keeps them in a good temper.
There have been great tumults in Rome in past times, but by drawing the
tribute in corn and distributing it freely here Nero keeps them in a high
state of contentment."

"You don't like Nero, Pollio?"

"I hate him," Pollio said. "He is a tyrant—greedy, cruel, and
licentious. He had his own mother murdered because she opposed his plans, and
some of our best and noblest citizens have been put to death, either because
Nero was jealous of their popularity, or because he desired to grasp their
possessions. It is horrible that Rome, which has conquered the world, should
lie prostrate at the feet of a creature like this. It was because my father
feared that some spy among the slaves might report what I said about Nero
that caused him to send me out to Suetonius, who is a connection of our
family, and he will ere long obtain for me some other employment away from
the capital. I shall be glad to be gone, the atmosphere here seems to stifle
one. Nero's spies are everywhere, and a man is afraid of speaking his
thoughts even in his own house. I like to take life easily, but I would
rather be battling with your people in the swamps than living in idleness in
Rome."

"I thought you were glad to return, Pollio?"

"I thought I should be, Beric, but I suppose the active life in Britain
has spoilt me. I used to scent my hair and lounge in the baths, and frequent
the shows, and lead just such a life as the young men we have spoken to this
afternoon, and I was contented with it. I wonder at myself now, but I cannot
take up the old life where I left it. I have been back for twenty-four hours,
and I am restless already and am longing to be doing something."

"I should think," Beric said with a smile, "that you might well put up
with Rome for a few weeks. It seems to me that it will take years to know all
its wonders. There are the great libraries, too, filled with the manuscripts,
and as you understand Greek you could study the writings of the sages and
philosophers."

"I would rather row in the galleys," Pollio said. "I don't mind an hour or
two now and then with the historians, but the philosophers are too deep for
my shallow brain. Would you like to look into a library now?"

Beric assented eagerly, and they entered one of these buildings. It
consisted of a great hall with innumerable couches and benches for readers.
Round the walls were pigeonholes, in which the manuscripts were deposited,
and numerous attendants moved to and fro among the readers, supplying them
with such manuscripts as they desired, and taking away those they had done
with. Leaving the hall they passed through a series of large apartments, in
which hundreds of men were at work copying manuscripts.

"These are scribes," Pollio said. "Very many of them are slaves whom the
owners allow to work here, sharing with them their earnings; others are
freedmen who have either purchased their liberty from their savings, or have
been manumitted by their owners. You see many of the most popular writings,
such as those of Caesar, Tacitus, Livy, or the poets Horace, Virgil, and
Ovid, are constantly in demand, and scores of copies must be kept on hand.
Then again many of the Greek authors are greatly in request. The manuscripts
wear out and must be replaced, so that at the various libraries there are
some thousands of scribes always kept employed. You see among the scribes men
of many nationalities. Those men, for instance, are Egyptians. You see the
rolls they are copying, they are made of papyrus, which is got, as I have
heard my uncle say, from the leaf of a sort of water plant. Some of them are
copying these writings on to vellum for the use of those who understand the
Egyptian language, others are translating them into Latin. Those men are
Persians, and those at the tables near them are Jews. They are making
translations of their sacred books, which are much read at present, partly
owing to the fact that the people are troublesome, and probably an army will
have to be sent against them, partly because of the Christian sect, whose
doctrines are founded upon the Jewish sacred books, and are supported, as
they claim, by various prognostications of their augurs, or, as they call
them, prophets. The books, therefore, are of interest to the learned, and it
may be that some who come here to read them are secretly disciples of the
sect."

"Can I come here and read?" Beric asked eagerly.

"Certainly you can, these libraries are open to all. So are the baths, at
least the greater portion of them; everything is free here. But it is nearly
time for us now to be going home."

Beric availed himself at once of the advantages offered by the public
libraries. It was only thus that men of moderate means could in those days
obtain access to books, for the cost of manuscripts was considerable, and
libraries were only to be found in the houses of the wealthy. His taste for
reading was a matter of astonishment among the gladiators, and was the
subject of a good deal of jesting. This, however, was for the most part of a
good natured kind, but upon the part of one named Lupus it was sneering and
offensive.

This man, who was a professional gladiator, that is one of those who had
taken to it as a trade, was a Roman of unusual stature and strength. He had
been a worker in iron, and from making arms took to their use. He had won
many victories in the arena, and was considered the champion of the school of
Scopus, the only man who approached him in the number of victories being
Porus, the Scythian, whose strong point, however, lay in his activity and his
dexterity in throwing the net rather than in strength. Lupus had, from the
first day of the Britons' arrival at the ludus, viewed them with aversion,
his hostility to Beric being especially marked, and he particularly objected
to the slight deference shown to him by his companions, in spite of the
protests of Beric himself, who in vain pointed out to them that he was now no
longer their chief, and that they were in all respects comrades and
equals.

Lupus had carefully abstained from any remarks that would bring him into
collision with the other Britons. Mortified as he was that his strength and
stature, of which he was very proud, had been thrown into the shade by that
of the newcomers, he felt that in a quarrel their rough strength might render
them more than his match. Beric, however, he considered as but a youth, and
though doubtless powerful, deemed that his muscles would be no match for his
own seasoned strength. As yet he had not seen Beric tried with any arms, and
thought that the young barbarian could know nothing of the management of
weapons. At first his annoyance only took the form of addressing him with an
affected deference as "my lord Beric;" but the discovery that, while he
himself was unable to read or write, the young Briton was fond of study, and
spent his spare time in the public libraries, afforded him opportunities for
constant sneers.

These Beric took in good part, but Boduoc, who had now picked up enough
Latin to understand the gist of his remarks, one day intervened, and seizing
Lupus by the shoulder dashed him to the ground. The Roman sprang to his feet,
caught up a knife from the table, and rushed at Boduoc. Scopus, however, who
was present, with an angry growl sprang upon him, seizing him by the throat
with so vigorous a grasp that his face became purple, his eyes stared, and he
in vain gasped for breath. Then he flung him down into a corner of the room
with such force that he lay half stunned.

"You dog," he exclaimed, "how dare you take a knife? I will have no
quarrels here, as you know; and if you again venture on a disturbance I will
bid your comrades tie you up, and will flay the skin off your back with the
lash. The Briton was perfectly right. Why can't you leave his friend alone? I
have marked your ill natured jests before, and am glad that he punished
you."

Lupus rose slowly to his feet with an angry glare in his eyes. He knew,
however, that Scopus had in his time been unrivalled in the arena, and that,
moreover, the rest, who had been offended by his airs of superiority, would
side with the lanista against him.

"I said nothing to the Briton," he said; "it was the boy I addressed. If
it was an offence, why did he not take it up? Is he a coward that others have
to fight his battles? If he is offended, why does he not challenge me to
fight, as is customary in all the ludi?"

"Because he is as yet but a pupil, and will not be fit to enter the arena
for three or four years," Scopus said. "A fight can only be between trained
gladiators. You don't suppose that a fresh joined youth is going to fight
with one who has won a score of times in the arena?"

"Excuse me, Scopus," Beric said quietly, "I am perfectly ready to fight
with this braggadocio, and challenge him to a contest; a few hard knocks will
do neither of us any harm, therefore let us go into the school and have it
out. It is much better so than to have perpetual quarrelling."

Scopus would have objected, but the gladiators broke into shouts of "A
fight! a fight!" and, as it was according to the rules of all the ludi that
quarrels should be fought out with wooden swords without interference by the
lanistae, he simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, as he has challenged you, Lupus, I have nothing to say to it;" and
the whole of those present at once adjourned to the school.

The combatants were armed with bucklers and with swords of the same weight
to those ordinarily used, but with square edges with the corners rounded off,
so that though they would give a heavy blow they would not cut.

Lupus, confident in his skill, and furious at the humiliation he had just
suffered, at once sprang upon Beric, but the latter as nimbly leaped back,
catching the blow on his buckler, and at the same time bringing his own with
such force and weight upon the Roman's left shoulder that it brought him for
a moment on his knee. A shout of astonishment and applause burst from the
lookers on. Lupus would have instantly renewed the fight, but Beric stepped
back and lowered his sword.

"Your left arm is disabled," he said. "You had best wait till you can use
your buckler again; it would not be a fair match now."

Furious as he was, Lupus felt the truth of what his opponent said, and
though the burst of applause at Beric's magnanimity angered him even more
than before, he drew back a step or two. At the order of Scopus two of the
others came forward with some oil, with which for some minutes they kneaded
his shoulder.

"I am ready again," he said at last, and the gladiators drew back, and the
opponents faced each other. Lupus had learned that Beric was not, as he had
supposed, entirely untaught; but although he attributed the blow he had
received solely to his own rashness, he renewed the conflict with the same
care and prudence he would have shown had he been fighting with edged weapons
in the arena. He soon found, however, that he had met with an opponent
differing widely from those he had hitherto fought. Beric had had excellent
teachers among the veteran legionaries at Camalodunum, and to skill in the
sword he added a prodigious activity. Instead of fighting in the ordinary
Roman method, standing firm, with the body bent forward and the buckler
stretched out at the level of the shoulder in front of him, he stood lightly
poised on his feet, ready to spring forward or back, and with his shield
across his body.

In vain Lupus tried to get to close quarters. His cramped attitude
prevented rapid movement, and he could not get even within striking distance
of his opponent save when the latter sprang in to deliver a blow. These,
however, fell vainly, for Lupus was fighting now calmly and warily, and with
sword or shield guarded every blow aimed at him. Beric soon felt that he
should but exhaust himself did he continue to attack in this fashion, and
presently desisted, and standing his ground awaited the attack of Lupus. The
blows fell fast and heavy now. Then Beric purposely lowered his buckler a
moment; Lupus instantly struck, springing a pace forward. Beric sharply threw
up his left arm, striking up the hand of Lupus as it fell, and at the same
moment brought his weapon with tremendous force down upon the head of his
antagonist, who fell as if killed.

"Habet, habet!" shouted the gladiators, alike exultant and astonished at
the defeat of the bully of the school.

"By the gods, Beric," Scopus said, "you have given him a lesson. I talked
abut four years' training, but even now I would send you into the arena
without fear. Why, there are but one or two gladiators who are considered the
superior of Lupus with the sword, and he had from the first no chance with
you."

"It was simply because he did not understand my way of fighting," Beric
said quietly. "No, Scopus, I will have the four years' training before I
fight. I have chanced to overcome Lupus this time, but I am not going to
match myself against men until I have my full strength."

Scopus laughed. "That looks as if there was strength enough in your arm,
Beric," he said pointing to the prostrate figure. "However, I know from what
you have said that you wish to put off your entry into the arena as long as
possible, and doubtless practice and teaching will render you a far better
swordsman than you are now. Take him away," he said to the others, pointing
to Lupus. "Dash cold water over him till he comes round, and then bandage his
head. I doubt if his skull be not broken. One of you had better go for a
leech to examine him; and mind, let not a word be breathed outside the school
as to this contest. We will keep it silent until it is time for Beric to
enter the arena, and then we shall be dull indeed if we do not lay bets
enough on him to keep us in wine for a year. There is no fear of Lupus
himself saying a word about it. You may be sure that, roughly shaken as his
conceit may be, he will hold his tongue as to the fact that he has found his
master in what he was pleased to call a boy. Mind, if I ever hear a word
spoken outside the school on the subject, I will make it my business to find
out who spread the report, and it will be very bad for the man who did it
when I bring it home to him."

It was upwards of a week before Lupus was able to enter the gymnasium
again. Beric had particularly requested the others to make no allusion to his
discomfiture, but from that time the superiority of Lupus was gone, and
Beric's position in the school was fully established.

XIII. — A CHRISTIAN

WHILE Beric thus spent his time between his exercises and
the schools and
one or other of the libraries, varied occasionally by paying a visit with
Pollio, Boduoc and his companions were not ill contented with their life.
Most of them had, during the long journey through Gaul, picked up a few words
of Latin from their guards, and as it was the language of the gymnasium, and
was the only medium by which the men of the various nationalities could
communicate with each other, they now rapidly increased their knowledge of
it, Beric strongly urging them to become acquainted with it as soon as
possible, as it might be most useful and important to them. None of the
others besides Boduoc were, Scopus thought, ever likely to be a credit to him
in the more serious contests in the ring, but all showed an aptitude for
wrestling and boxing, and the lanista was well content with this, as the
games in the arena frequently commenced with these comparatively harmless
sports, and in many of the provincial cities wrestlers and boxers were in
great request.

Beric was much pleased when he heard from the master that he intended to
confine his teaching to these two exercises only with regard to his
companions; for although men were sometimes seriously hurt by blows given by
the masses of leather and lead, which, wound round the fist, were used to
give weight to the blows, a final termination to the contests was rare. In
the exercises the men practised with many wrappings of wadding and cotton
wound round the caestus, answering the purpose of the modern boxing glove.
Beric himself was very partial to the exercise, and as it strengthened the
muscles, and gave quickness and activity to the limbs, Scopus encouraged him
in it.

"I do not see the use of the caestus," Beric said one day. "One could hit
and guard much more quickly without it. It is good, no doubt, for exercise,
as it strengthens the muscles, but surely for fighting it would be better to
lay it aside. What is the advantage of it? With the bare fist one can knock
an opponent down, and with a very few blows strike him senseless. What more
can you want than that?"

"Yes, for men like you Britons that would do, for a straight blow from any
one of you would well nigh break in the bones of the face of an ordinary man,
and, as you say, you could strike much more quickly without the weight on
your hands, but with smaller men a contest might last for hours without the
caestus, and the spectators would get tired of it; but I will try the
experiment some day, and put up one of the Britons against Asthor the Gaul,
hands against the caestus, and see what comes of it. At present he is more
skilful than any of your people, but they are getting on fast, and when one
of them is fairly his match in point of skill I will try it. If the Briton
wins, I will, when they first go into the arena, match them against the
champions of the other schools with bare hands against armed ones, and they
will get great credit if they win under those conditions. Both at that and at
wrestling you Britons are likely to carry all before you. I should like to
train you all only for that."

"I wish you would," Beric said earnestly.

"There is less honour in winning at wrestling and boxing than in the other
contests," Scopus said.

"For that I care nothing whatever, Scopus; besides, you would get more
credit from my winning in those games than from my being killed in the
others. Strength and height count for much in them, while against an active
retiarius strength goes for very little."

"But you are active as well as strong, Beric, and so is Boduoc. Moreover,
when Caesar sent you to me to be prepared for the ring, he meant that you
should take part in the principal contests, and he would be furious if, on
some great occasion, when he expected to see you stand up against a famous
champion, it turned out that you were only a wrestler."

"I am ready and willing to learn all the exercises, Scopus—I should
like to excel in them all—but you might put me up as a wrestler and
boxer; then if Nero insisted on my betaking myself to other weapons, I could
do so without discredit to you. But my opinion is that every man should do
what he can do best. Were we to fight with clubs, I think that we need have
no fear of any antagonists; but our strength is for the most part thrown away
at sword play, at which any active man with but half our strength is our
match. You have told me that Nero often looks in at your school, and
doubtless he will do so when he comes back from Greece. You could then tell
him that you had found that all the Britons were likely to excel rather in
wrestling and boxing, where their strength and height came into play, than in
the other exercises, and that you therefore were instructing them chiefly in
them."

"I will see what I can do," Scopus said. "I like you Britons, you are good
tempered, and give me no trouble. I will tell you what I will do, I will send
to Greece for the best instructor in wrestling I can get hold of, they are
better at that than we are, and wrestling has always ranked very high in
their sports. Most of you already are nearly a match for Decius; but you are
all worth taking pains about, for there are rich prizes to be won in the
provincial arenas, as well as at Rome; and in Greece, where they do not care
for the serious contests, there is high honour paid to the winners in the
wrestling games."

As time went on Beric had little leisure to spend in libraries, for the
exercises increased in severity, and as, instead of confining himself, as
most of the others did, to one particular branch, he worked at them all, the
day was almost entirely given up to exercises of one kind or another. His
muscles, and those of his companions, had increased vastly under the training
they received. All had been accustomed to active exercise, but under their
steady training every ounce of superfluous flesh disappeared, their limbs
became more firmly knit, and the muscles showed out through the clear skin in
massive ridges.

"We should astonish them at home, Beric," Boduoc said one day. "It is
strange that people like the Romans, who compared to us are weakly by nature,
should have so studied the art of training men in exercises requiring
strength. I used to wonder that the Roman soldiers could wield such heavy
spears and swords. Now I quite understand it. We were just as nature made us,
they are men built up by art. Why, when we began, my arms used to ache in a
short time with those heavy clubs, now I feel them no more than if they were
willow wands."

Pollio had remained but two months in Rome, and had then gone out with a
newly appointed general to Syria. Beric had missed his light hearted friend
much, but he was not sorry to give up the visits with him to the houses of
his friends. He felt that in these houses he was regarded as a sort of show,
and that the captured British chief, who was acquainted with the Latin tongue
and with Roman manners, was regarded with something of the same curiosity and
interest as a tamed tiger might be. Besides, however much gladiators might be
the fashion in Rome, he felt a degradation in the calling, although he quite
appreciated the advantage that the training would be to him should he ever
return to Britain. He was pleased to learn from Pollio, on the day before he
started, that he had heard that his uncle would ere long return to Rome.

"I believe," he said, "that it is entirely my aunt's doing. You know how
she hates what she calls her exile, and I hear that she has been quietly
using all her family influence to obtain his recall and his appointment as a
magistrate here. I learn she is likely to succeed, and that my uncle will be
one of these fine days astounded at receiving the news that he is appointed a
magistrate here. I don't suppose he will ever learn my aunt's share in the
matter, and will regard what others would take as a piece of supreme good
luck as a cruel blow of fortune. However, if he did discover it, my aunt
would maintain stoutly that she did it for the sake of the girls, whom she
did not wish to see married to some provincial officer, and condemned, as she
had been, to perpetual exile; and as she would have the support of all her
relations, and even of my father, who is also convinced that it is the
greatest of all earthly happiness for a Roman to reside at Rome, my uncle for
once will have to give in. Aemilia, too, will be glad to return to Rome,
though I know that Ennia is of a different opinion. I believe, from what she
let drop one day, that she has a leaning towards the new sect, of which she
has heard from the old slave who was her nurse. It will be a great misfortune
if she has, for it would cause terrible trouble at home, and if any fresh
persecution breaks out, she might be involved. I am sure my aunt has no
suspicion of it, for if she had the slave would be flogged to death or thrown
to the fishes, and Ennia's life would be made a burden to her till she
consented to abandon the absurd ideas she had taken up."

But if Norbanus had returned with his family to Rome, Beric had heard
nothing of it. Had Pollio been at Rome he would at once have taken him to see
them on their return, but now that he had gone there was no one from whom he
would hear of their movements, and Norbanus himself would be so much occupied
with his new duties, and with the society with which Lesbia would fill the
house, that he would have no time to inquire about the British captive he had
received as his guest at Massilia.

One evening, when the rest of the gladiators were engaged in a hot
discussion as to the merits of some of those who were to appear at the games
given in celebration of the funeral obsequies of a wealthy senator, Beric
asked Boduoc to accompany him for a walk.

"One gets sick of all that talk about fighting," he said as they went out.
"How men can sit indoors in a hot room heavy with the smoke of the lamps,
when they can go out on such a lovely night as this, I cannot understand. We
do not have such nights as this at home, Boduoc."

"No," Boduoc assented reluctantly, for it was seldom that he would allow
anything Roman to be superior to what he was accustomed to in Britain; "the
nights are certainly fine here, and so they need be when it is so hot all day
that one can scarcely breathe outside the house. It seems to me that the heat
takes all the strength out of my limbs."

Beric laughed. "It did not seem so, Boduoc, when today you threw Borthon,
who is as heavy and well nigh as strong as yourself, full five yards through
the air. Let us turn out from these busy streets and get among the
hills—not those on which the palaces stand, but away from houses and
people."

"What a night it would be for wolf hunting!" Boduoc said suddenly, when
they had walked along for some distance in silence.

"Yes, that was fine sport, Boduoc; and when we slew we knew we were
ridding the land of fierce beasts."

"Well, many of the gladiators are not much better, Beric. There is Porus,
who may be likened to a panther; there is Chresimus, who is like a savage
bull; Gripus, who, when not at work, is for ever trying to stir up strife.
Truly, I used to think, Beric, that I could not slay a man unless he was an
enemy, but I scarce feel that now. The captives in war are like ourselves,
and I would not, if I could help it, lift sword against them. But many of the
men are malefactors, who have been sentenced to death as gladiators rather
than to death by the executioner, and who, by the terms of the sentence, must
be killed within the course of a year. Well, there is no objection to killing
these; if you do not do it, someone else will. Then there are the Romans,
these are the roughest and most brutal of all; they are men who have been the
bullies of their quarters, who fight for money only, and boast that it is a
disappointment to them when, by the vote of the spectators, they have to
spare an antagonist they have conquered. It is at least as good a work to
kill one of these men as to slay a wolf at home. Then there are the
patricians, who fight to gain popular applause, and kill as a matter of
fashion; for them I have assuredly no pity.

"No, I hope I shall never have to stand up against a captive like myself
but against all others I can draw my sword without any of the scruples I used
to feel. I hear that if one of us can but hold his own for three years, in
most cases he is given his liberty. I do not mean that he would be allowed to
go home, but he is free from the arena."

They were now near the summit of one of the hills, where a clear sweep had
been made of all the houses standing there in order that a stately temple
should be erected on the site. Suddenly they heard a scream in a female
voice.

"There is some villainy going on, Boduoc, let us break in upon the game."
They ran at the top of their speed in the direction from which they had heard
the cry, and came upon a group of seven or eight men, belonging, as they
could see by the light of the moon, to the dregs of the city. A female was
lying on the ground, another was clinging to her, and two men with coarse
jeers and laughter were dragging her from her hold when the two Britons ran
up.

Beric struck one of the men to the ground with a terrible blow, while
Boduoc seizing the other hurled him through the air, and he fell head
foremost among a heap of the masonry of a demolished building. The other men
drew their knives, but as Beric and his companion turned upon them there was
a cry, "They are gladiators," and the whole of them without a moment's
hesitation took to their heels.

Beric then turned towards the females, and as the light of the moon fell
full on his face the one with whom the men had been struggling exclaimed,
"Why, it is surely Beric!"

Beric looked at her in surprise. "It is the lady Ennia!" he exclaimed.
"Why, what are you doing at this time of night in so lonely a place, and
without other attendants than this woman?"

"It is my nurse," Ennia said; "I was on my way with her, Beric, to a
secret meeting of Christians held in an underground room of one of the villas
that stood here. I have been there several times before and we have not been
molested, but, as I gathered from what the men said, they noticed the light
fall upon my necklace and bracelet as I passed by a lamp, and so followed us.
Happily they overtook us before we reached the place of meeting. Had they
followed us farther they might have come upon us there, and then much more
harm would have been done. They came up and roughly demanded who we were, and
bade me hand over my jewels. Lycoris answered them, and they struck her down.
I threw myself down on her and clung to her, but they would soon have
plundered and perhaps killed me had not you arrived."

"Do not you think, Ennia, that it is foolish and wrong of you thus to go
out unprotected at night to such a place as this, and, as I suppose, without
the knowledge of your father and mother?"

"They do not know," she said, "but it is my duty to go. It is the only
opportunity I have for hearing the Word preached."

"I cannot think, Ennia, that it is your duty," Beric said gravely. "The
first duty of a young woman is to obey her parents, and I think that you,
being as yet scarce a woman, are not able to judge between one religion and
another. I know nothing of the doctrines of this sect save what your father
told me; but he said that they were good and pure, and, being so, I am sure
that they cannot countenance disobedience to parents."

"The words are 'Forsake all, and follow Me,'" Ennia said firmly.

"That could not have been said to one of your age, Ennia. I was reading
the Jewish sacred book the other day, and one of the chief commandments is to
honour your father and mother. Well, I think, at any rate, that it were best
not to go there tonight. These men may return, and at any rate I will not
allow you thus to wander about at night unprotected. Boduoc and I will escort
you to your house. When you get there I trust that you will think this over,
and that you will see that such midnight excursions are altogether wrong,
whatever the motive may be; but at any rate, if you must go, I must obtain
your promise that you will write to me at the school of Scopus the gladiator,
to tell me at what hour you start. I shall not intrude my presence upon you,
nor accompany you, for this would be to make myself an accomplice in what I
consider your folly; but I shall always be near you, and if you are again
disturbed on your way Boduoc and I will be at hand to punish those who meddle
with you."

The old nurse by this time had regained her feet.

"You are the nurse of this young lady," Beric said to her sternly, "and
should know better than to bring her into danger. If Norbanus knew what you
have done he would have you cut in pieces."

"It is not the fault of Lycoris. She begged and entreated me not to come,
but I would not listen to her. You are angry with me, Beric, but you would
not be angry if you knew what it was to me. Younger than I have died for the
Faith, and I would die too if it were necessary."

Beric made no reply, he was indeed deeply vexed at what he considered an
act of mad folly. The daughters of Norbanus had been very friendly and kind
to him at Massilia, and he felt a debt of gratitude to their father; and this
escapade on the part of Ennia, who was as yet scarce sixteen, vexed him
exceedingly. He was not sure, indeed, but that he ought to go straight to
Norbanus and tell him what had happened, yet he feared that in such a case
the anger of the magistrate would be so great that Ennia would be forced by
him into becoming one of the vestal virgins, or be shut up in strict
imprisonment. Scarce a word was spoken as they passed down the hill and into
the streets, now almost deserted. At last Ennia stopped at the entrance used
by the slaves to her father's house.

"Will you give me your promise," he asked, "about going out at night
again? I implore you, I beseech you do not again leave the house of your
father at night unknown to him. You cannot tell the dangers you run by so
doing, or the misery you may bring, not only on yourself, but on your
parents."

"I promise you," Ennia said. "I owe you so great a debt of gratitude that
even your harsh words do not anger me. I will think over what you have said,
and try to do what may seem to me my duty."

"That is all I ask," Beric said more gently; and then turning walked away
with Boduoc, who had but faintly understood what was being said, but was
surprised at the recognition between Beric and this girl, whom he had not
particularly noticed when at Massilia.

"That is Pollio's cousin, the younger daughter of the magistrate I stayed
with at Massilia. It was well for her that it was not Pollio who came to her
rescue instead of us."

"I should say so," Boduoc said dryly. "Pollio would scarcely be a match
for eight cutthroats."

"I did not mean that, Boduoc. I meant that he would have rated her
soundly."

"It seemed to me that you were rating her somewhat soundly, Beric. I
scarce ever heard you speak so harshly before, and I wondered the more as you
are neither kith nor kin to her, while by the heartiness with which you
scolded her you might have been her own brother."

"I did not think whether I had a right to scold her or not, Boduoc. I
liked both the maiden and her sister, and their father was very kind to me.
Moreover, after all Pollio has done for us, the least I could do was to look
after his cousin. But even if I had known nothing whatever of her or her
friends, I should have spoken just as I did. The idea of a young girl like
that wandering about at night with no one but an old slave to protect her in
an unfrequented quarter of Rome! It is unheard of."

"But what were they doing there, Beric?"

"They were going to a meeting place of a new religion there is in Rome.
The people who belong to it are persecuted and obliged to meet in secret. The
old woman belongs to it, and has, I suppose, taught Ennia. I have heard that
the sect is spreading, and that although most of those who adhere to it are
slaves, or belong to the poorer class, there are many of good family who have
also joined it."

"Well, I should have thought," Boduoc said, "that the Romans had no cause
to be dissatisfied with their gods. They have given them victory, and
dominion, and power, and wealth. What more could they want of them? I could
understand that we, whose god did nothing to assist us in our fight against
the Romans, should seek other gods who might do more for us. But that a Roman
should have been discontented with his gods is more than I can understand.
But what is that sudden flash of light?"

"It is a fire, and in these narrow streets, with a brisk wind blowing, it
may well spread. There, do you hear the watchmen's trumpets giving the alarm?
Let us get back quickly, Boduoc. It may be that we shall be all turned out to
fight the fire if it spreads."

They were not far from the school now, and a few minutes' run took them
there. The house was quiet, but a few oil lamps burning here and there
enabled them to make their way to the broad planks, arranged like a modern
guard bed, on which they slept with their three comrades.

"Is that you, Beric?" Scopus, who slept in a cubicule leading off the
great room, asked.

"Yes it is; Boduoc and I."

"You are very late," he growled. "Late hours are bad for the health. Are
you sober?"

Beric laughed.

"No, I need not ask you," Scopus went on. "If it had been some of the
others who had been out so late, I should have been sure they would have come
home as drunk as hogs; but that is not your way."

"There is a fire not very far off, Scopus, and the wind is blowing
strongly."

Scopus was at once on his feet and came out into the room. "I don't like
fires," he said uneasily. "Let us go up on the roof and see what it is
like."

Short as the time had been since Beric first saw the flash of light the
fire had already spread, and a broad sheet of flame was shooting up into the
air. "It is down there in the most crowded quarter, and the wind is blowing
strongly. It is likely to be a big fire. Listen to the din."

A chorus of shouts, the shrieks of women, and the tramp of many feet
running, mingled with the sounding of the watchmen's horns.

"The soldiers will soon be there to keep order," Scopus said. "As every
household is obliged to keep a bucket in readiness, and there is an abundance
of water; they will cope with it. At any rate the wind is not blowing in this
direction. It is half a mile away fully."

"Can we go down and see if we can be of any assistance?" Beric asked. "We
might help in removing goods from the houses, and in carrying off the aged
and sick."

"You can if you like, Beric. I would not say as much for those who are
training hard, for the loss of a night's rest is serious; but as it will be
some months before you Britons are ready for the arena, it will do you no
harm."

Beric went below, aroused his countrymen, and went with them and Boduoc.
The streets were alive. Men were running in the direction of the fire
carrying buckets; women were standing at the doors inquiring of the passersby
if they knew what street was on fire, and whether it was likely to spread.
The sound of military trumpets calling the soldiers to arms rose in various
parts of the city, and mingled with the hoarse sound of the watchmen's horns.
As they approached the fire the crowd became thicker.

Beric admired the coolness shown and the order that already reigned. The
prefect of the 7th Cohort of the Night Guard, always on duty to guard the
streets from thieves or fire, was already on the spot, and under his
directions, and those of several inferior officials, the men, as fast as they
arrived, were set to pass buckets along from the fountains and conduits.

"Who are you?" the magistrate asked, as the five tall figures came up the
street in the light of the fire.

"We belong to the school of Scopus," Beric said. "We have come down to see
if we can be of assistance. We are strong, and can move goods from houses
threatened, or carry off the sick should there be any; or we can throw water
on the flames."

"The soldiers will do that," the magistrate said, "that is their business;
but, as you say, you may be of use in helping clear the houses outside their
lines. The flames are spreading. Come with me, I will take you to the
centurion commanding a company of the Night Guard here, for if he saw you
coming out of the house with goods he might take you for plunderers."

The centurion, who was hard at work with his men, nodded an assent.

"It were well to get some more stout fellows like these," he said to the
magistrate. "In spite of our efforts the fire is making headway, and the
sooner the houses in its path are stripped the better."

A strong body of volunteers for the work was soon organized, and an
official placed in charge of it. All night they worked without intermission,
Beric and his comrades keeping together and astonishing those who were
working with them by the strength and activity they displayed. But fast as
they worked the flames advanced faster. They were half suffocated by smoke,
and the sparks fell thickly round them. The workers carried the goods out of
the houses into the street, where other parties conveyed them to open spaces.
Lines of men down all the streets leading to the scene of the fire passed
along buckets of water. These the soldiers carried up on to the roofs, which
they deluged, while others wetted the hangings and furniture that had not
been removed.

Parties of troops strove to pull down the houses in the path of the
flames, while others again marched up and down preserving order. The Night
Guard entered the houses, compelled all to leave, and saw that none were left
behind; while sentries kept guard over the goods piled high in the open
spaces. When morning broke, Beric gave up the work to a fresh party and
returned with his companions to the school. They found it deserted, save by
the slaves, the others having, as they learned, gone to the fire an hour
before with Scopus.

"We will have a bath to get rid of the dust and sweat," Beric said. "But
first we will go up to the roof and have a look at the fire. We had no time
when we were working to think much of it; but as we were always being driven
back by it, it must have spread a good deal."

An exclamation of surprise broke from them when they gained the roof.
Smoke and flames were rising over a large area. A dense canopy overhung the
town, a confused din filled the air, while momentarily deep heavy sounds told
of falling roofs and walls.

"This is terrible, Boduoc."

"Why terrible, Beric? For my part I should like to see Rome utterly
destroyed, as she has destroyed so many other towns."

"The Romans would build it up again more magnificent than before, Boduoc.
No, it would be a misfortune to the world if Rome were destroyed; but there
is little chance of that. They have had many fires before now; this is a
large one certainly, but by this time all the troops in the city must be
there, and if the wind drops they will soon arrest the progress of the
flames."

The other Britons quite agreed with Boduoc, and though ready to work their
hardest to aid in saving the property of individuals, they looked on with
undisguised satisfaction at the great conflagration. On such a point as this
Beric knew that it would be useless to argue with them.

"You had better come down from the roof, Boduoc. There are others watching
the fire besides ourselves; and if it were reported that some of the
gladiators from the school were seen making exulting gestures, there would be
a popular tumult, and it is likely as not we should be charged with being the
authors of the fire. Let us go down, get some food, and then have a bath and
sleep for a while. There is little chance of the fire being checked at
present. At any rate, we have done our share of work."

After a few hours' sleep Beric again went up to the roof. The fire had
made great progress, and, as he could see, was not only travelling with the
wind, but working up against it. It was already much nearer to the school
than it had been. As to the width of the area of the conflagration the smoke
prevented him from forming any opinion; but he judged that the length was
fully a mile. It was evident that the progress of the fire was causing great
dismay. Groups were gathered on the housetops everywhere, while the streets
were crowded with fugitives laden with household goods, making their way
towards the thinly populated portions of the hills. After eating some bread
and fruit, Beric again sallied out with his four companions. On their way
down they met Scopus with several of the gladiators returning.

"What is being done, Scopus?"

"As far as stopping the fire nothing is being done. It has been given up.
What can be done when the fire is sweeping along a mile broad, and the heat
is so great that there is no standing within a hundred yards of it? All the
soldiers are there, and the magistrates and the guards, and all the rest of
them, but all that can be done is to prevent the scum of the city from
sacking and plundering. Scores of men have been scourged and some beheaded,
but it is no easy matter to keep down the mob. There are parties of guards in
every street. The whole of the Praetorians are under arms, but the terror and
confusion is so great and spread over so wide a space that it is well nigh
impossible to preserve order. Proclamations have just been issued by the
senate calling upon all citizens to gather at their places of assembly in
arms, enjoining them to preserve order, and authorizing the slaying of all
robbers caught in the act of plundering. All persons within a certain
distance of the fire are recommended to send their wives and families, with
their jewels and all portable wealth, to the public gardens, where strong
guards of the Praetorians will be posted."

"It seems to me that the fire is advancing in this direction, also,
Scopus."

"It is spreading everywhere," Scopus said gloomily. "The heat seems to
draw the air in from all directions, and the flames surge sometimes one way
and sometimes another. You had better not go far away, Beric; if the flames
crawl up much nearer we shall have to prepare for a move. We have no jewels
to lose, nor is the furniture of much value, but the arms and armour, our
apparatus, clothes, and other things must be carried off."

The scene as Beric went forward was pitiful in the extreme. Weeping women
carrying heavy burdens and with their children clinging to their dress came
along. Some searched up and down frantically for members of the family who
had been lost in the crowd. Old men and women were being helped along by
their relations. The sick were being borne past upon doors or the tops of
tables.

Among the fugitives were groups of men from the poorest districts by the
river, who were only restrained from snatching at the ornaments and caskets
of the women by the presence of the soldiers, standing at short intervals
along the street and at the doors of the principal houses. In spite of the
vigilance of the guard, however, such thefts occasionally took place, and the
screams that from time to time rose in the side streets told of the work of
plunder going on there.

"I should like to turn down here and give a lesson to some of these
villains," Boduoc said.

"I should like nothing better, Boduoc, but it would not do to get into a
fray at present. It would only bring up the guard, and they would not be
likely to ask many questions as to who was in fault, but would probably
assume at once that we, being gladiators, were there for the purpose of
robbery, and that the row had arisen over the division of spoil. Look, there
is a centurion taking a party of men down the street where we heard those
screams. Let us move back a few paces and see what is going to happen. Yes,
there is another party of soldiers coming in at the other end. The women are
running out of the houses to tell their grievances."

Small parties of soldiers entered the houses. Shouts and yells could be
heard even above the surrounding din. Men jumped from windows or ran out into
the street only to be cut down by the troops there, and so each body of
soldiers continued to advance until they met in the centre of the street, and
then, after a few words between the officers, each party returned by the way
it had come. They had done their work, and the street had been completely
cleared of the plunderers.

"You see, Boduoc, had we run down there when we heard the cries it would
have gone hard with us. The troops certainly spent no time in questioning;
the women might have told them, perhaps, that we had come to their
assistance; still it is just as well that we keep clear of the matter."

Beric's party skirted along the fire for some distance. At some points to
windward of the flames efforts were still being made to prevent their spread,
large numbers of men being employed in pulling down houses under the
supervision of the fire guard. Bodies of troops guarded the entrances to all
the streets, and kept back the crowd of sightseers, who had assembled from
all parts of the city. Fearing that they might be impressed for the work of
demolition, the Britons returned to the school. The familia, as the members
of any school of this kind were called, were all assembled. Scopus was
walking moodily up and down the gymnasium, but it was evident by the
countenances of most of the men that they felt a deep satisfaction at the
misfortune that had befallen Rome. From time to time Scopus ascended to the
roof, or sent one of the men out to gather news, but it was always to the
same effect, the fire was still spreading, and assuming every hour more
serious proportions. Towards evening the flames had approached so closely,
that Scopus gave orders for the men to take up the bundles that had already
been made up, containing everything of any value in the school.

"You had better not wait any longer," he said; "at any moment there may be
orders for all schools to go down to help the troops, and then we should lose
everything."

Accordingly the heavy packets were lifted by the men on to their heads or
shoulders, and they started for the Palatine, which was the nearest hill.
Here were many of the houses of the wealthy, and the owners of most of these
had already thrown open their gardens for the use of the fugitives. In one of
these the gladiators deposited their goods. Two of the party having been left
to guard them the rest went out to view the fire.

There was little sleep in Rome that night. It was now evident to all that
this was no local conflagration, but that, if the wind continued to blow, it
threatened the entire destruction of a considerable portion of the town.
Every space and vantage ground from which a view of the fire could be
obtained was crowded with spectators.

"There were great fires when we destroyed Camalodunum, Verulamium, and
London," Boduoc said, "but this is already larger than any of those, and it
is ever spreading; even at this distance we can hear the roar of the flames,
the crash of the falling houses, and the shouts of the workers."

"It is a terrible sight, indeed, Boduoc. It looks like a sea of fire. So
far the part involved is one of the oldest and poorest in the city, but if it
goes on like this the better quarters will soon be threatened. If we get no
special orders tomorrow, we will go down to the house of Norbanus and give
what help we can in the removal of his goods. His library is a very valuable
one, and its loss would be a terrible blow to him. I remember that at
Camalodunum there was nothing I regretted so much as the destruction of the
books."

"It is all a matter of taste," Boduoc said. "I would rather have a good
suit of armour and arms than all the books in Rome. Why some people should
worry their brains to make those little black marks on paper, and others
should trouble to make out what they mean, is more than I can understand.
However, we shall be glad to help you to carry off the goods of
Norbanus."

XIV. — ROME IN FLAMES

ALL night the gladiators watched the ever widening area of
fire. In the
morning proclamations were found posted in every street, ordering all
citizens to be under arms, as if expecting the attack of an enemy; each
district was to be patrolled regularly, and all evildoers found attempting to
plunder were to be instantly put to death, the laws being suspended in face
of the common danger. All persons not enrolled in the lists of the city
guards were exhorted to lend their aid in transporting goods from the
neighbourhood of the fire to a place of safety in the public gardens, and the
masters of the schools of gladiators were enjoined to see that their scholars
gave their aid in this work.

"Well, we may as well set to work," Scopus said. "There are some of my
patrons to whom we may do a good service."

"Will you let me go with my comrades first to aid Norbanus, a magistrate
who has done me service?" Beric said. "After I have helped to move his things
I will join you wherever you may appoint."

Scopus nodded. "Very well, Beric. I shall go first to the house of Gallus
the praetor, he is one of my best friends. After we are done there we will go
to the aid of Lysimachus the senator; so, if you don't find us at the house
of Gallus, you will find us there."

Beric at once started with the four Britons to the house where he had left
Ennia. It was distant but half a mile from the point the fire had now
reached, and from many of the houses round the slaves were already bearing
goods. Here, however, all was quiet. The door keeper, knowing Beric,
permitted him and his companions to enter without question. Norbanus was
already in his study. He looked up as Beric approached him. "Why, it is
Beric!" he said in surprise. "I heard that you were in one of the ludi and
was coming to see you, but I have been full of business since I came here. I
am glad that you have come to visit me."

"It is not a visit of ceremony," Beric said; "it is the fire that has
brought me here."

"Lesbia tells me that it is still blazing," Norbanus said indifferently.
"She has been worrying about it all night. I tell her I am not praetor of the
fire guard, and that it does not come within my scope of duty. I went down
yesterday afternoon, but the soldiers and citizens are all doing their work
under their officers, and doubtless it will soon be extinguished."

"It is ever growing, Norbanus. It is within half a mile of your house now,
and travelling fast."

"Why, it was treble that distance last night," Norbanus said in surprise.
"Think you that there is really danger of its coming this way?"

"Unless a change takes place," Beric said, "it will assuredly be here by
noon; even now sparks and burning flakes are falling in the street. The
neighbours are already moving, and I would urge you to lose not a moment's
time, but summon your slaves, choose all your most valuable goods, and have
them carried up to a place of safety. If you come up to the roof you will see
for yourself how pressing is the danger."

Norbanus, still incredulous, ascended the stairs, but directly he looked
round he saw that Beric had not exaggerated the state of things.

"I have brought four of my tribesmen with me," Beric said, "and we are all
capable of carrying good loads. There ought to be time to make three journeys
at least up to the gardens on the hill, where they will be safe. I should
say, let half your slaves aid us in carrying up your library and the
valuables that come at once to hand, and then you can direct the others to
pack up the goods you prize most so that they shall be ready by our
return."

Descending, Norbanus at once gave the orders, and then going up to the
women's apartments told Lesbia to bid the female slaves pack at once all the
dresses, ornaments, and valuables. The cases containing the books were then
brought out into the atrium, and there stacked in five piles. They were then
bound together with sacking and cords.

"But what are you going to do with these great piles?" Norbanus said as he
came down from above, where Lesbia was raging at the news that much of their
belongings would have to be abandoned. "Why, each of them is a wagon
load."

"They are large to look at, but not heavy. At any rate we can carry them.
Is there anyone to whom we shall specially take them, or shall we place a
guard over them?"

"My cousin Lucius, the senator, will, I am sure, take them for me. His
house is surrounded by gardens, and quite beyond reach of fire. His wife is
Lesbia's sister, and Aemilia shall go up with you."

The Britons helped each other up with the huge packets, four slaves with
difficulty raising the last and placing it on Beric's head.

"The weight is nothing now it is up," he said, "though I wish it were a
solid packet instead of being composed of so many of these book boxes."

The cases in which the Romans usually kept their books were about the size
and shape of hat boxes, but of far stronger make, and each holding from six
to ten rolls of vellum. A dozen slaves under the superintendence of the
steward, and carrying valuable articles of furniture, followed the Britons,
and behind them came Aemilia, with four or five female slaves carrying on
their heads great packages of the ladies' clothing. The house of Lucius was
but half a mile away from that of Norbanus. Even among the crowd of
frightened men and women hurrying up the hill the sight of the five Britons,
with their prodigious burdens created lively astonishment and admiration.

"Twenty such men as those," one said, "would carry off a senator's villa
bodily, if there was room for it in the road."

"They are the Titans come to life again," another remarked. "It would take
six Romans to carry the weight that one of them bears."

When they neared the villa of Lucius, Aemilia hurried on ahead with the
female slaves, and was standing at the door with the senator when the Britons
approached. The senator uttered an exclamation of astonishment.

"Whence have you got these wonderful porters, Aemilia?"

"I know not," the girl said. "We were dressing, when our father called out
that we were to hurry and to put our best garments together, for that we were
to depart instantly, as the fire was approaching. For a few minutes there was
terrible confusion. The slaves were packing up our things, all talking
together, and in an extreme terror. Our mother was terribly upset, and I
think she made things worse by giving fresh orders every minute. In the
middle of it my father shouted to me to come down at once, and the slaves
were to bring down such things as were ready. When I got down I was
astonished at seeing these great men quite hidden under the burdens they
carried, but I had no time to ask questions. My father said, 'Go with them to
my cousin Lucius, and ask him to take in our goods,' and I came."

By this time the party had reached the house.

"Follow me," Lucius said, leading the way along the front of the house,
and round to the storehouses in its rear. Aemilia accompanied him. The slaves
deposited their burdens on the ground, and then aided the Britons to lower
theirs. Aemilia gave an exclamation of astonishment as Beric turned
round.

"Why, it is Beric the Briton!" she exclaimed.

"You did not recognize me, then?" Beric said smiling.

"I should have done so had I looked at you closely," she said, "in spite
of your Roman garb; but what with the crowd, and the smoke, and the fright, I
did not think anything about it after my first wonder at seeing you so
loaded. Where did you come from so suddenly to our aid? Are these your
countrymen? Ennia and I have asked our father almost every day since we came
to Rome to go and find you, and bring you to us. He always said he would, but
what with his business and his books he was never able to. How good of you to
come to our aid! I am sure the books would never have been saved if it had
not been for you, and father would never have got over their loss."

"I knew where your house was," Beric said, "and was glad to be able to do
something in gratitude for your father's kindness at Massilia. But I must not
lose a moment talking; I hope to make two or three more trips before the fire
reaches your house. Your slaves have orders to return with us. Will you tell
your steward to guide us back by a less frequented road than that we came by,
and then we can keep together and shall not lose time forcing our way through
the crowd."

By the time they reached the house of Norbanus the slaves left behind had
packed up everything of value.

"I will go up," Norbanus said, "with all the slaves, male and female, if
you will remain here to guard the rest of the things till we return. Several
parties of ill favoured looking men have entered by the door, evidently in
the hopes of plunder, but left when they saw we were still here. The ladies'
apartments have been completely stripped, and their belongings will go up
this time, so that there will be no occasion for them to return. If the
flames approach too closely before we come back, do not stay, Beric, nor
trouble about the goods that remain. I have saved my library and my own
manuscripts, which is all I care for. My wife and daughters have saved all
their dresses and jewels. All the most valuable of my goods will now be
carried up by my slaves, and if the rest is lost it will be no great
matter."

Beric and his companions seated themselves on the carved benches of the
atrium and waited quietly. Parties of marauders once or twice entered, for
the area of the fire was now so vast that even the troops and armed citizens
were unable properly to guard the whole neighbourhood beyond its limits; but
upon seeing these five formidable figures they hastily retired, to look for
booty where it could be obtained at less risk.

The fire was but a few hundred yards away, and clouds of sparks and
blazing fragments were falling round the house when Norbanus and his slaves
returned. These were sufficient to carry up the remaining parcels of goods
without assistance from the Britons, who, however, acted as an escort to them
on their way back. Their throats were dry and parched by the hot air, and
they were glad of a long draught of the good wine that Lucius had in
readiness for their arrival. Beric at first refused other refreshment, being
anxious to hasten away to join Scopus, but the senator insisted upon their
sitting down to a meal.

"You do not know when you may eat another," he said; "there will be little
food cooked in this part of Rome today."

As Beric saw it was indeed improbable that they would obtain other food if
they neglected this opportunity, he and the others sat down and ate a good,
though hasty, meal.

"You will come and see us directly the fire is over," Norbanus said as
they rose to leave. "Remember, I shall not know where to find you, and I have
had no time to thank you worthily for the service that you have rendered me.
Many of the volumes you have saved were unique, and although my own
manuscripts may be of little value to the world, they represent the labour of
many years."

Hurrying down to the rendezvous Scopus had given him, Beric found that
both villas had already been swept away by the fire. He then went up to the
spot where their goods were deposited, but the two gladiators in charge said
that they had seen nothing whatever of Scopus.

"Then we will go down and do what we can," Beric said. "Should Scopus
return, tell him that we will be here at nightfall."

For another two days the conflagration raged, spreading wider and wider,
and when at last the wind dropped and the fury of the flames abated, more
than the half of Rome lay in ashes. Of the fourteen districts of the city
three were absolutely destroyed, and in seven others scarce a house had
escaped. Nero, who had been absent, reached Rome on the third day of the
fire. The accusation that he had caused it to be lighted, brought against him
by his enemies years afterwards, was absurd. There had been occasional fires
in Rome for centuries, just as there had been in London before the one that
destroyed it, and the strong wind that was blowing was responsible for the
magnitude of the fire.

There can, however, be little doubt that the misfortune which appeared so
terrible to the citizens was regarded by Nero in a different light. Nero was
prouder of being an artist than of being an emperor. Up to this time Rome,
although embellished with innumerable temples and palaces, was yet the Rome
of the Tarquins. The streets were narrow, and the houses huddled together.
Mean cottages stood next to palaces. There was an absence of anything like a
general plan. Rome had spread as its population had increased, but it was a
collection of houses rather than a capital city.

Nero saw at once how vast was the opportunity. In place of the rambling
tortuous streets and crowded rookeries, a city should rise stately, regular,
and well ordered, with broad streets and noble thoroughfares, while in its
midst should be a palace unequalled in the world, surrounded by gardens,
lakes, and parks. There was ample room on the seven hills, and across the
Tiber, for all the population, with breathing space for everyone. What glory
would there not be to him who thus transformed Rome, and made it a worthy
capital of the world! First, however, the people must be attended to and kept
in good humour, and accordingly orders were at once issued that the gardens
of the emperor's palaces should be thrown open, and the fugitives allowed to
encamp there. Such magazines as had escaped the fire were thrown open, and
food distributed to all, while ships were sent at once to Sicily and Sardinia
for large supplies of grain for the multitude.

While the ruins were still smoking the emperor was engaged with the best
architects in Rome in drawing out plans for laying out the new city on a
superb scale, and in making preparations for the commencement of work. The
claims of owners of ground were at once wiped out by an edict saying, that
for the public advantage it was necessary that the whole of the ground should
be treated as public property, but that on claims being sent in other sites
would be given elsewhere. Summonses were sent to every town and district of
the countries under the Roman sway calling for contributions towards the
rebuilding of the capital. So heavy was the drain, and so continuous the
exactions to raise the enormous sums required to pay for the rebuilding of
the city and the superb palaces for the emperor, that the wealth of the known
world scarce sufficed for it, and the Roman Empire was for many years
impoverished by the tremendous drain upon its resources.

The great mass of the Roman population benefited by the fire. There was
work for everyone, from the roughest labourer to the most skilled artisan and
artist. Crowds of workmen were brought from all parts. Greece sent her most
skilful architects and decorators, her sculptors and painters. Money was
abundant, and Rome rose again from her ruins with a rapidity which was
astonishing.

The people were housed far better than they had ever been before; the rich
had now space and convenience for the construction of their houses, and
although most of them had lost the greater portion of their valuables in the
fire, they were yet gainers by it. All shared in the pride excited by the new
city, with its broad streets and magnificent buildings, and the groans of the
provincials, at whose cost it was raised, troubled them not at all. It was
true that Nero, in his need for money, seized many of the wealthier citizens,
and, upon one pretext or other, put them to death and confiscated their
property; but this mattered little to the crowd, and disturbed none save
those whose wealth exposed them to the risk of the same fate.

Beric saw nothing of these things, for upon the very day after the fire
died out Scopus started with his scholars to a villa on the Alban Hills that
had been placed at his disposal by one of his patrons. There were several
other schools in the neighbourhood, as the air of the hills was considered to
be far healthier and more strengthening than that of Rome. In spite of the
public calamity Nero continued to give games for the amusement of the
populace, other rich men followed his example, and the sports of the
amphitheatre were carried on on an even more extensive scale than before.

Scopus took six of his best pupils to the first games that were given
after the fire. Four of them returned victorious, two were sorely wounded and
defeated. Their lives had, however, been spared, partly on account of their
skill and bravery, partly because the emperor was in an excellent humour, and
the mass of the spectators, on whom the decision of life or death rested, saw
that the signal for mercy would be acceptable to him.

The Britons greatly preferred their life on the Alban Hills to that in
Rome; for, their exercises done, they could wander about without being stared
at and commented upon.

The pure air of the hills was invigorating after that of the great city;
and here, too, they met ten of their comrades whose ludi had been all along
established on the hills. Plans of escape were sometimes talked over, but
though they could not resist the pleasure of discussing them, they all knew
that it was hopeless. Though altogether unwatched and free to do as they
liked after the work of the day was over, they were as much prisoners as if
immured in the strongest dungeons. The arm of Rome stretched everywhere; they
would be at once followed and hunted down wherever they went. Their height
and complexion rendered disguise impossible, and even if they reached the
mountains of Calabria, or traversed the length of Italy successfully and
reached the Alps—an almost hopeless prospect—they would find none
to give them shelter, and would ere long be hunted down. At times they talked
of making their way to a seaport, seizing a small craft, and setting sail in
her; but none of them knew aught of navigation, and the task of traversing
the Mediterranean, passing through the Pillars of Hercules, and navigating
the stormy seas beyond until they reached Britain, would have been impossible
for them.

News came daily from the city, and they heard that Nero had accused the
new sect of being the authors of the conflagration, that the most rigid
edicts had been issued against them, and that all who refused to abjure their
religion were to be sent to the wild beasts in the arena.

Beric had not seen Norbanus since the day when he had saved his library
from the fire; but a few days after they had established themselves in the
hills he received a letter from him saying that he had, after much inquiry,
learned where Scopus had established his ludus; he greatly regretted Beric
had left Rome without his seeing him, and hoped he would call as soon as he
returned. His family was already established in a house near that of Lucius.
After that Beric occasionally received letters from Aemilia, who wrote
sometimes in her father's name and sometimes in her own. She gave him the
gossip of Rome, described the wonderful work that was being done, and sent
him letters from Pollio to read.

One day a letter, instead of coming by the ordinary post, was brought by
one of the household slaves.

"We are all in terrible distress, Beric," she said. "I have told you about
the severe persecution that has set in of the Christians. A terrible thing
has happened. You know that our old nurse belonged to that sect. She often
talked to me about it, but it did not seem to me that what she said could be
true; I knew that Ennia, who is graver in her disposition than I am, thought
much of it, but I did not think for a moment that she had joined the sect.
Two nights ago some spies reported to one of the praetors that some persons,
believed to be Christians, were in the habit of assembling one or two nights
a week at a lonely house belonging to a freedman. A guard was set and the
house surrounded, and fifty people were found there. Some of them were
slaves, some freedmen, some of them belonged to noble families, and among
them was Ennia.

"She had gone accompanied by that wretched old woman. All who had been
questioned boldly avowed themselves to be Christians, and they were taken
down and thrown into prison. Imagine our alarm in the morning when we found
that Ennia was missing from the house, and our terrible grief when, an hour
later, a messenger came from the governor of the prison to say that Ennia was
in his charge. My father is quite broken down by the blow. He does not seem
to care about Ennia having joined the new sect—you know it is his
opinion that everyone should choose their own religion—but he is
chiefly grieved at the thought that she should have gone out at night
attended only by her nurse, and that she should have done this secretly and
without his knowledge. My mother, on the other hand, is most of all shocked
that Ennia should have given up the gods of Rome for a religion of slaves,
and that, being the daughter of a noble house, she should have consorted with
people beneath her.

"I don't think much of any of these things. Ennia may have done wrong, but
that is nothing to me. I only think of her as in terrible danger of her life,
for they say that Nero will spare none of the Christians, whether of high or
low degree. My father has gone out this morning to see the heads of our
family and of those allied to us by kinship, to try to get them to use all
their influence to obtain Ennia's pardon. My mother does nothing but bemoan
herself on the disgrace that has fallen upon us. I am beside myself with
grief, and so, as I can do nothing else, I write to tell you of the trouble
that has befallen us. I will write often and tell you the news."

Beric's first emotion was that of anger that Ennia should, after the
promise she had given him, have again gone alone to the Christian gathering.
Then he reflected that as he was away from Rome, she was, of course, unable
to keep that promise. He had not seen her since that night, for she had
passed straight through the atrium with her mother while he was assisting the
slaves to take up their burdens.

He could not help feeling an admiration for her steadfastness in this new
Faith that she had taken up. By the side of her livelier sister he had
regarded her as a quiet and retiring girl, and was sure that to her these
midnight outings by stealth must have been very terrible, and that only from
the very strongest sense of duty would she have undertaken them. Now her open
avowal of Christianity, when she must have known what were the penalties that
the confession entailed, seemed to him heroic.

"It must be a strange religion that could thus influence a timid girl," he
said to himself. "My mother killed herself because she would not survive the
disaster that had fallen upon her people and her gods; but her death was
deemed by all Britons to be honourable. Besides, my mother was a Briton,
strong and firm, and capable of heroic actions. This child is courting a
death that all who belong to her will deem most dishonourable. There is
nothing of the heroine in her disposition; it can only be her Faith in her
religion that sustains her. As soon as I return to Rome I will inquire more
into it."

It was now ten months since Beric had entered the school of Scopus. He was
nearly twenty years old, and his constant and severe exercises had broadened
him and brought him to well nigh his full strength. Scopus regarded him with
pride, for in all the various exercises of the arena he was already ahead of
the other gladiators. His activity was as remarkable as his strength, and he
was equally formidable with the trident and net as with sword and buckler;
while in wrestling and with the caestus none of the others could stand up
against him. He had been carefully instructed in the most terrible contest of
all, that against wild beasts, for Scopus deemed that, being a captive of
rank and importance, he might be selected for such a display.

A Libyan, who had often hunted the lion in its native wilds, had described
to him over and over again the nature of the animal's attack, and the spring
with which it hurls itself upon its opponent, and Scopus having obtained a
skin of one of the animals killed in the arena, the Libyan had stuffed it
with outstretched paws; and Scopus obtained a balista, by which it was hurled
through the air as if in the act of springing. Against this Beric frequently
practised.

"You must remember," the Libyan said, "that the lion is like a great cat,
and as it springs it strikes, so that you must avoid not only its direct
spring, but its paws stretched to their full extent as it passes you in the
air. You must be as quick as the animal itself, and must not swerve till it
is in the air. Then you must leap aside like lightning, and, turning as you
leap, be ready to drive your spear through it as it touches the ground. The
inert mass, although it may pass through the air as rapidly as the wild
beast, but poorly represents the force and fierceness of the lion's spring.
We Libyans meet the charge standing closely together, with our spears in
advance for it to spring on, and even then it is rarely we kill it without
one or two being struck down before it dies. Bulls are thought by some to be
more formidable than lions; but as you are quick, you can easily evade their
rush. The bears are ugly customers. They seem slow and clumsy, but they are
not so, and they are very hard to kill. One blow from their forepaws will
strip off the flesh as readily as the blow of a tiger. They will snap a spear
shaft as easily as if it were a reed. They are all ugly beasts to fight, and
more than a fair match for a single man. Better by far fight the most skilled
gladiator in the ring than have anything to do with these creatures. Yet it
is well to know how to meet them, so that if ill fortune places you in front
of them, you may know how to do your best."

Accounts came almost daily to the hills of the scenes in the arena, and
the Romans, accustomed though they were to the fortitude with which the
gladiators met the death stroke, were yet astonished at the undaunted bearing
of the Christians—old men and girls, slaves and men of noble family,
calmly facing death, and even seeming to rejoice in it.

One evening a slave brought a note from Aemilia to Beric. It contained but
a few words:

"Our efforts are vain; Ennia is condemned, and will be handed to the lions
tomorrow in the arena. We have received orders to be present, as a punishment
for not having kept a closer watch over her. I think I shall die."

Beric went to Scopus at once.

"You advised me several times to go to the arena, Scopus, in order to
learn something from the conflicts. I want to be present tomorrow. Porus and
Lupus are both to fight."

"I am going myself, Beric, and will take you with me. I shall start two
hours before daybreak, so as to be there in good time. As their lanista I
shall enter the arena with them. I cannot take you there, but I know all the
attendants, and can arrange for you to be down at the level of the arena. It
may not be long before you have to play your part there, and I should like
you to get accustomed to the scene, the wall of faces and the roar of
applause, for these things are apt to shake the nerves of one unaccustomed to
them."

Beric smiled. "After meeting the Romans twenty times in battle, Scopus,
the noise of a crowd would no more affect me than the roar of the wind over
the treetops. Still I want to see it; and more, I want to see how the people
of this new sect face death. British women do not fear to die, and often slay
themselves rather than fall into the hands of the Romans, knowing well that
they will go straight to the Happy Island and have no more trouble. Are these
Christians as brave?"

Scopus shrugged his shoulders. "Yes, they die bravely enough. But who
fears death? Among all the peoples Rome has conquered where has she met with
cowards? Everywhere the women are found ready to fall by their husbands'
swords rather than become captives; to leap from precipices, or cast
themselves into blazing pyres. Is man anywhere lower than the wild beast, who
will face his assailants till the last? I have seen men of every tribe and
people fight in the arena. If conquered, they raise their hand in order to
live to conquer another day; but not once, when the thumbs have been turned
down, have I seen one flinch from the fatal stroke."

"That is true enough," Beric said; "but methinks it is one thing to court
death in the hour of defeat, when all your friends have fallen round you, and
all hope is lost, and quite another to stand alone and friendless with the
eyes of a multitude fixed on you. Still I would see it."

The next day Beric stood beside Scopus among a group of guards and
attendants of the arena at one of the doors leading from it. Above, every
seat of the vast circle was crowded with spectators. In the centre of the
lower tier sat the emperor; near him were the members of his council and
court. The lower tiers round the arena were filled by the senators and
equities, with their wives and daughters. Above these were the seats of
officials and others having a right to special seats, and then came, tier
above tier to the uppermost seats, the vast concourse of people. When the
great door of the arena opened a procession entered, headed by Cneius Spado,
the senator at whose expense the games were given. Then, two and two, marched
the gladiators who were to take part in it, accompanied by their lanistae or
teachers. Scopus, after seeing Beric well placed, had left him to accompany
Porus and Lupus.

The gladiators were variously armed. There were the hoplomachi, who fought
in complete suits of armour; the laqueatores, who used a noose to catch their
adversaries; the retiarii, with their net and trident, and wearing neither
armour nor helmet; the mirmillones, armed like the Gauls; the Samni, with
oblong shields; and the Thracians, with round ones. With the exception of the
retiarii all wore helmets, and their right arms were covered with armour, the
left being protected by the shield. The gladiators saluted the emperor and
people, and the procession then left the arena, the first two matched against
each other again entering, each accompanied by his lanista. Both the
gladiators were novices, the men who had frequently fought and conquered
being reserved for the later contests, as the excitement of the audience
became roused. One of the combatants was armed as a Gaul, the other as a
Thracian.

The combat was not a long one. The men fought for a short time cautiously,
and then closing exchanged fierce and rapid blows until one fell mortally
wounded. A murmur of discontent rose from the spectators, there had not been
a sufficient exhibition of skill to satisfy them. Eight or ten pairs of
gladiators fought one after the other, the excitement of the audience rising
with each conflict, as men of noted skill now contended. The victors were
hailed with shouts of applause, and the vanquished were spared, a proof that
the spectators were in a good temper and satisfied with the entertainment.
Beric looked on with interest. In the age in which he lived feelings of
compassion scarcely existed. War was the normal state of existence. Tribal
wars were of constant occurrence, and the vanquished were either slain or
enslaved. Men fought out their private quarrels to the death; and Beric,
being by birth Briton and by education Roman, felt no more compunction at the
sight of blood than did either Briton or Roman.

To him the only unnatural feature in the contest was that there existed
neither personal nor tribal hostility between the combatants, and that they
fought solely for the amusement of the spectators. Otherwise he was no more
moved by the scenes that passed before his eyes than is a Briton of the
present day by a friendly boxing match. He was more interested when Porus
entered the arena, accompanied by Scopus. He liked Porus, who, although quick
and fiery in temper, was good natured and not given to brawling. He had often
practised against him, and knew exactly his strength and skill. He was clever
in the management of his net, but failed sometimes from his eagerness to use
his trident. He was received with loud applause when he entered, and
justified the good opinion of the spectators by defeating his antagonist, who
was armed as a Samnite, the spectators expressing their dissatisfaction at
the clumsiness of the latter by giving the hostile signal, when the
Gaul—for the vanquished belonged to that nationality—instead of
waiting for the approach of Porus, at once stabbed himself with his own
sword.

The last pair to fight were Lupus and one of the Britons. He had not been
trained in the school of Scopus, but in one of the other ludi, and as he was
the first of those brought over by Suetonius to appear in the arena, he was
greeted with acclamation as loud as those with which Lupus was received. Tall
as Lupus was, the Briton far exceeded him in stature, and the interest of the
spectators was aroused by the question whether the strength of the newcomer
would render him a fair match for the well known skill of Lupus. A buzz went
round the amphitheatre as bets were made on the result. Beric felt a thrill
of excitement, for the Briton was one of the youngest and most active of his
followers, and had often fought side by side with him against the Romans.

How well he had been trained Beric knew not, but as he knew that he
himself was superior in swordmanship to Lupus, he felt that his countryman's
chances of success were good. It was not long, however, before he saw that
the teaching the Briton had received had been very inferior to that given at
the school of Scopus, and although he twice nearly beat Lupus to the ground
by the sheer weight of his blows, the latter thrice wounded him without
himself receiving a scratch. Warned, however, of the superior strength of the
Briton Lupus still fought cautiously, avoiding his blows, and trying to tire
him out. For a long time the conflict continued, then, thinking that his
opponent was now weakened by his exertions and by loss of blood, Lupus took
the offensive and hotly pressed his antagonist, and presently inflicted a
fourth and more severe wound than those previously given.

A shout rose from the spectators, "Lupus wins!" when the Briton, with a
sudden spring, threw himself upon his opponent. Their shields clashed
together as they stood breast to breast. Lupus shortened his sword to thrust
it in below the Briton's buckler, when the latter smote with the hilt of his
sword with all his strength full upon his assailant's helmet, and so
tremendous was the blow that Lupus fell an inert mass upon the ground, while
a tremendous shout rose from the audience at this unexpected termination of
the contest. Scopus leaned over the fallen man. He was insensible but
breathed, being simply stunned by the weight of the blow. Scopus held up his
own hand, and the unanimous upturning of the thumbs showed that the
spectators were well satisfied with the skill and courage with which Lupus
had fought.

XV. — THE CHRISTIANS TO THE LIONS

AFTER the contest in which Lupus had been defeated there
was a pause. The
gladiatorial part of the show was now over, but there was greater excitement
still awaiting the audience, for they knew Nero had ordered that some of the
Christians were to be given to the lions. There was a hush of expectation as
the door was opened, and a procession, consisting of a priest of Jupiter and
several attendants of the temple, followed by four guards conducting an
elderly man with his two sons, lads of seventeen or eighteen, entered. They
made their way across the arena and stopped before the emperor. The priest
approached the prisoners, holding out a small image of the god, and offered
them their lives if they would pay the customary honours to it. All refused.
They were then conducted back to the centre of the arena, and the rest,
leaving them there, filed out through the door. The old man laid his hands on
the shoulders of his sons and began singing a hymn, in which they both
joined. Their voices rose loud and clear in the silence of the amphitheatre,
and there was neither pause nor waver in the tone as the entrance to one of
the cages at the other end of the arena was opened, and a lion and a lioness
appeared. The animals stood hesitating as they looked round at the sea of
faces, then, encouraged by the silence, they stepped out, and side by side
made the circuit of the arena, stopping and uttering a loud roar as they came
upon the track along which the bleeding bodies of those who had fallen had
been dragged. When they had completed the circle they again paused, and now
for the first time turned their attention to the three figures standing in
its centre. For a minute they stood irresolute, and then crouching low
crawled towards them.

Beric turned his head. He could view without emotion a contest of armed
men, but he could not, like the population of Rome, see unarmed and
unresisting men pulled down by wild beasts. There was a dead stillness in the
crowded amphitheatre, then there was a low sound as of gasping breath. One
voice alone continued the hymn, and soon that too ceased suddenly. The
tragedy was over, and the buzz of conversation and comment again broke out
among the spectators. Certainly these Christians knew how to die. They were
bad citizens, they had doubtless assisted to burn Rome, but they knew how to
die.

A strong body of guards provided with torches now entered. The lions were
driven back to their dens, the bodies being left lying where they had fallen.
Four batches of prisoners who were brought out one after another met with a
similar fate. Then there was another pause. It was known that a girl of noble
family was to be the last victim, and all eyes were turned to Norbanus, who,
with his wife and Aemilia, sat in the front row near Nero, with two
Praetorian guards standing beside them. Norbanus was deadly pale, but the
pride of noble blood, the stoicism of the philosopher, and the knowledge of
his own utter helplessness combined to prevent his showing any other sign of
emotion. Lesbia sat upright and immovable herself. She was not one to show
her emotion before the gaze of the common people.

Aemilia, half insensible, would have fallen had not the guard beside her
supported her. She had seen nothing of what had passed in the arena, but had
sat frozen with horror beside her mother. Again the doors opened, a priest of
Diana, followed by a procession of white robed attendants, and six virgins
from the temple of Diana, entered, followed by Ennia between the attendants
of the temple, while a band of lictors brought up the rear. Even the hardened
hearts of the spectators were moved by the youth and beauty of the young
girl, who, dressed in white, advanced calmly between her guards, with a
gentle modest expression on her features. When the procession formed up
before the emperor, she saluted him. The priest and the virgins surrounded
her, and urged her to pay reverence to the statue of Diana.

Pointing to her parents, they implored her for their sake to recant. Pale
as death, and with tears streaming down her cheeks, she shook her head
quietly. "I cannot deny the Lord who died for me," she said.

Nero himself rose from his seat. "Maiden," he said, "if not for your own
sake, for the sake of those who love you, I pray you to cease from your
obstinacy. How can a child like you know more than the wisest heads of Rome?
How can you deny the gods who have protected and given victory to your
country? I would fain spare you."

"I am but a child, as you say, Caesar," Ennia replied. "I have no strength
of my own, but I am strong in the strength of Him I worship. He gave His life
for me—it is not much that I should give mine for Him."

Nero sank back on his seat with an angry wave of his hand. He saw that the
sympathy of the audience was with the prisoner, and would willingly have
gained their approval by extending his clemency towards her. The procession
now returned to the centre of the arena, where the girls, weeping, took leave
of Ennia, who soon stood alone a slight helpless figure in the sight of the
great silent multitude. Nero had spoken in a low tone to one of his
attendants. The door of another cage was opened, and a lion, larger in bulk
than any that had previously appeared, entered the arena, saluting the
audience with a deep roar. As it did so a tall figure, naked to the waist,
sprang forward from the group of attendants behind a strong barrier at the
other end of the arena. He was armed only with a sword which he had snatched
from a soldier standing next to him. Deep murmurs of surprise rose from the
spectators. The master of ceremonies exchanged a few words with the emperor,
and a body of men with torches and trumpets ran forward and drove the lion
back into its den. Then Beric, who had been standing in front of Ennia,
advanced towards the emperor.

"Who are you?" Nero asked.

"I am Beric, once chief of the Iceni, now a British captive. I received
great kindness on my way hither from Norbanus, the father of this maid. As we
Britons are not ungrateful I am ready to defend her to the death, and I crave
as a boon, Caesar, that you will permit me to battle against the lion with
such arms as you may decide."

"Are you a Christian?" the emperor asked coldly.

"I am not. I am of the religion of my nation, and Rome has always
permitted the people that have been subdued to worship in their own fashion.
I know nought of the Christian doctrines, but I know that this damsel at
least can have had nought to do with the burning of Rome, and that though she
may have forsaken the gods of Rome, in this only can she have offended. I
pray you, and I pray this assembly, to let me stand as her champion against
the beasts."

A burst of applause rose from the spectators. This was a novelty, and an
excitement beyond what they had bargained for. They had been moved by the
youth of the victim, and now the prospects of something even more exciting
than the rending to pieces of a defenceless girl enlisted them in favour of
the applicant. Moreover the Romans intensely admired feats of bravery, and
that this captive should offer to face single handed an animal that was known
to be one of the most powerful of those in the amphitheatre filled them with
admiration. Accustomed as they were to gaze at athletes, they were struck
with the physique and strength of this young Briton, with the muscles
standing up massive and knotted through the white skin.

"Granted, granted!" they shouted; "let him fight."

Nero waited till the acclamation ceased, and then said: "The people have
spoken, let their will be done. But we must not be unfair to the lion; as the
maiden was unarmed so shall you stand unarmed before the lion."

The decision was received in silence by the spectators. It was a sentence
of death to the young Briton, and the silence was succeeded by a low murmur
of disapproval. Beric turned a little pale, but he showed no other sign of
emotion.

"Thanks, Caesar, for so much of a boon," he said in a loud, steady voice;
"I accept the conditions, it being understood that should the gods of my
country, and of this maiden, defend me against the lion, the damsel shall be
free from all pain and penalty, and shall be restored to her parents."

"That is understood," Nero replied.

With an inclination of his head to the emperor and a wave of his hand to
the audience in general, Beric turned and walked across the arena to the
barrier. Scopus was standing there.

"You are mad, Beric. I grieve for you. You were my favourite pupil, and I
looked for great things from you, and now it has come to this, and all is
over."

"All is not quite over yet, Scopus. I will try to do credit to your
training; give me my cloak." He wrapped himself in its ample folds, and then
walked quietly back to the centre of the arena. A murmur of surprise rose
from the spectators. Why should the Briton cumber his limbs with this
garment?

On reaching his position Beric again threw off the cloak, and stood in the
short skirt reaching scarce to the knees. "I am unarmed," he cried in a loud
voice. "You see I have not as much as a dagger." Then he tore off two broad
strips from the edge of the garment and twisted them into ropes, forming a
running noose in each, threw the cloak, which was composed of the stout cloth
used by the common people, over his arm, and signed to the attendants at the
cage to open the door.

"Oh, Beric, why have you thrown away your life in a useless attempt to
save mine?" Ennia said as he stood before her.

"It may not be useless, Ennia. My god has protected me through many
dangers, and your God will surely assist me now. Do you pray to Him for
aid."

Then as the door of the den opened he stepped a few paces towards it. A
roar of applause rose from the vast audience. They had appreciated his action
in making the ropes, and guessed that he meant to use his cloak as a
retiarius used his net; there would then be a contest and not a massacre.
Enraged at its former treatment the lion dashed out of its den with a sudden
spring, made three or four leaps forward, and then paused with its eyes fixed
on the man standing in front of it, still immovable, in an easy pose, ready
for instant action. Then it sank till its belly nearly touched the ground,
and began to crawl with a stealthy gliding motion towards him. More and more
slowly it went, till it paused at a distance of some ten yards.

For a few seconds it crouched motionless, save for a slow waving motion of
its tail; then with a sharp roar it sprang through the air. With a motion as
quick Beric leaped aside, and as it touched the ground he sprang across its
loins, at the same moment wrapping his cloak in many folds round its head,
and knotting the ends tightly. Then as the lion, recovering from its first
surprise, sprang to its feet with a roar of anger and disgust, Beric was on
his feet beside it.

For a moment it strove to tear away the strange substance which enveloped
its head, but Beric dropped the end of a noose over one of its forepaws, drew
it tight, and with a sudden pull jerked the animal over on its back. As it
sprang up again the other forepaw was noosed, and it was again thrown over.
This time, as it sprang to its feet, Beric struck it a tremendous blow on the
nose. The unexpected assault for a moment brought it down, but mad with rage
it sprang up and struck out in all directions at its invisible foe, leaping
and bounding hither and thither. Beric easily avoided the onslaught, and
taking every opportunity struck it three or four times with all his force on
the ear, each time rolling it over and over. The last of these blows seemed
almost to stun it, and it lay for a moment immovable.

Again Beric leaped upon it, coming down astride of its loins with all his
weight, and seizing at once the two ropes. The lion uttered a roar of dismay
and pain, and struck at him first with one paw and then with the other. By
his coolness and quickness, however, he escaped all the blows, and then, when
the lion seemed exhausted, he jerked tightly the cords, twisting them behind
the lion's back and with rapid turns fastening them together. The lion was
helpless now. Had Beric attempted to pull the cords in any other position it
would have snapped them like pack thread, but in this position it had no
strength, the pads of the feet being fastened together and the limbs almost
dislocated. As the animal rolled over and over uttering roars of vain fury,
Beric snatched the cloth from its head, tore off another strip, twisted it,
and without difficulty bound its hind legs together. Then he again wrapped it
round the lion's head, and standing up bowed to the spectators.

A mighty shout shook the building. Never had such a feat been seen in the
arena before, and men and women alike standing up waved their hands with
frantic enthusiasm. Beric had not escaped altogether unhurt, for as the lion
struck out at him it had torn away a piece of flesh from his side, and the
blood was streaming down over his white skirt. Then he went up to Ennia, who
was standing with closed eyes and hands clasped in prayer. She had seen
nothing of the conflict, and had believed that Beric's death and her own were
inevitable.

"Ennia," he said, "our gods have saved me; the lion is helpless." Then she
sank down insensible. He raised her on his shoulder, walked across the arena,
passed the barrier, and, ascending the steps, walked along before the first
row of spectators and handed her over to her mother. Then he descended again,
and bowed deeply, first to the emperor and then to the still shouting
people.

The giver of the games advanced and placed on his head a crown of bay
leaves, and handed to him a heavy purse of gold, which Beric placed in his
girdle, and, again saluting the audience, rejoined Scopus, who was in a state
of enthusiastic delight at the prowess of his pupil.

"You have proved yourself the first gladiator in Rome," he said.
"Henceforth the school of Scopus is ahead of all its rivals. Now we must get
your side dressed. Another inch or two, Beric, and the conflict would not
have ended as it did."

"Yes, if the lion had not been in such a hurry to strike, and had
stretched its paw to the fullest, it would have fared badly with me," Beric
said; "but it was out of breath and spiteful, and had not recovered from the
blow and from the shock of my jumping on it, which must have pretty nearly
broken its back. I knew it was a risk, but it was my only chance of getting
its paws in that position, and in no other would my ropes have been strong
enough to hold them."

"But how came you to think of fighting in that way?" Scopus asked, after
the leech, who was always in attendance to dress the wounds of the
gladiators, had bandaged up his side.

"I never expected to have to fight the beasts unarmed," Beric said, "but I
had sometimes thought what should be done in such a case, and I thought that
if one could but wrap one's cloak round a lion's head the beast would be at
one's mercy. Had I had but a caestus I could have beaten its skull in, but
without that I saw that the only plan was to noose its limbs. Surely a man
ought to be able to overcome a blinded beast."

"I would not try it for all the gold in Rome, Beric, even now that I have
seen you do it. Did you mark Caesar? There is no one appreciates valiant
deeds more than he does. At first his countenance was cold—I marked him
narrowly— but he half rose to his feet and his countenance changed when
you first threw yourself on the lion, and none applauded more warmly than he
did when your victory was gained. Listen to them; they are shouting for you
again. You must go. Never before did I know them to linger after a show was
over. They will give you presents."

"I care not for them," Beric said.

"You must take them," Scopus said, "or you will undo the favourable
impression you have made, which will be useful to you should you ever enter
the arena again and be conquered. Go, go!"

Beric again entered the arena, and the attendants led him up to the
emperor, who presented him with a gold bracelet, saying:

"I will speak to you again, Beric. I had wondered that you and your people
should have resisted Suetonius so long, but I wonder no longer."

Then Beric was led round the arena. Ladies threw down rings and bracelets
to him. These were gathered up by the attendants and handed to him as he
bowed to the givers. Norbanus, his wife, and daughter had already left their
seats, surrounded by friends congratulating them, and bearing with them the
still insensible girl. Having made the tour of the arena Beric again saluted
the audience and retired. One of the imperial attendants met them as they
left the building.

"The emperor bids me say, Scopus, that when Beric is recovered from his
wound he is to attend at the palace."

"I thought the emperor meant well towards you," Scopus said. "You will in
any case fight no more in the arena."

"How is that?" Beric asked in surprise.

"Did you not hear the shouts of the people the last time you entered,
Beric?"

"I heard a great confused roar, but in truth I was feeling somewhat faint
from loss of blood, and did not catch any particular sounds."

"They shouted that you were free from the arena henceforth. It is their
custom when a gladiator greatly distinguishes himself to declare him free,
though I have never known one before freed on his first appearance. The rule
is that a gladiator remains for two years in the ring, but that period is
shortened should the people deem that he has earned his life by his courage
and skill. For a moment I was sorry when I heard it, but perhaps it is better
as it is. Did you remain for two years, and fight and conquer at every show,
you could gain no more honour than you have done. Now I will get a lectica
and have you carried out to the hills. You are not fit to walk."

They were joined outside by Porus and Lupus. The former was warm in his
congratulation.

"By the gods, Beric, though I knew well that you would gain a great
triumph in the arena when your time came, I never thought to see you thus
fighting with the beasts unarmed. Why, Milo himself was not stronger, and he
won thirteen times at the Olympian and Pythian games. He would have won more,
but no one would venture to enter against him. Why, were you to go on
practising for another five years, you would be as strong as he was, and as
you are as skilful as you are strong it would go hard with any that met you.
I congratulated myself, I can tell you, when I heard the people shout that
you were free of the arena, for if by any chance we had been drawn against
each other, I might as well have laid down my net and asked you to finish me
at once without trouble."

"It was but a happy thought, Porus: if a man could be caught in a net, why
not a lion blinded in a cloak? That once done the rest was easy."

"Well, I don't want any easy jobs of that sort," Porus said. "But let us
go into a wine shop; a glass will bring the colour again to your cheeks."

"No, no, Porus," Scopus said. "Do you and Lupus drink, and I will drink
with you, but no wine for Beric. I will get him a cup of hot ass's milk; that
will give him strength without fevering his blood. Here is a place where they
sell it. I will go in with him first, and then join you there; but take not
too much. You have a long walk back, and I guess, Lupus, that your head
already hums from the blow that Briton gave it. By Bacchus, these Britons are
fine men! I thought you had got an easy thing of it, when boom! and there you
were stretched out like a dead man."

"It was a trick," Lupus said angrily, "a base trick."

"Not at all," Scopus replied. "You fought as if in war; and in war if you
had an opponent at close quarters, and could not use your sword's point, you
would strike him down with the hilt if you could. As I have told you over and
over again, you are a good swordsman, but you don't know everything yet by a
long way, and you are so conceited that you never will. I hoped that drubbing
Beric gave you a few days after he joined us would have done you good, but I
don't see that it has. There are some men who never seem to learn. If it had
not been for you our ludus would have triumphed all round today; but when one
sees a man we put forward as one of our best swordsmen defeated by a raw
Briton, people may well say, 'Scopus has got one or two good men; there is
Beric, he is a marvel; and Porus is good with the net; but as for the rest, I
don't value them a straw."

The enraged gladiator sprang upon Scopus, but the latter seized him by the
waist and hurled him down with such force that he was unable to rise until
Porus assisted him to his feet. As to Scopus, he paid him no farther
attention, but putting his hand on Beric's shoulder led him into the shop. A
long draught of hot milk did wonders for Beric, and he proposed walking, but
Scopus would not hear of it.

"Sit down here for five minutes," he said, "till I have a cup of wine with
the others. I should think Lupus must need it pretty badly, what with the
knock on the head and the tumble I have just given him. I am not sorry that
he was beaten by your countryman, for since he has had the luck to win two or
three times in the arena, his head has been quite turned. He would never have
dared to lay his hand on me had he not been half mad, for he knows well
enough that I could strangle him with one hand. The worst of him is, that the
fellow bears malice. He has never forgiven you the thrashing you administered
to him. Now I suppose he will be sulky for weeks; but if he does it will be
worse for him, for I will cut off his wine, and that will soon bring him to
his senses."

Scopus had gone but a few minutes when he returned with a lectica, which
was a sort of palanquin, carried by four stout countrymen.

"Really, Scopus, it is ridiculous that I should be carried along the
streets like a woman."

"Men are carried as well as women, Beric, and as you are a wounded man you
have a double right to be carried. Here is a bag with all those ornaments you
got. It is quite heavy to lift."

The bearers protested loudly at the weight of their burden when they
lifted the lectica, but the promise of a little extra pay silenced their
complaints. They were scarcely beyond the city when Beric, who was weaker
from loss of blood than he imagined, dozed off to sleep, and did not wake
till the lectica was set down in the atrium of the house on the Alban
Hills.

Next morning he was extremely stiff, and found himself obliged to continue
on his couch.

"It is of no use your trying to get up," Scopus said; "the muscles of your
flank are badly torn, and you must remain quiet."

An hour later a rheda or four wheeled carriage drove up to the door, and
in another minute Norbanus entered Beric's cubicle. There were tears in his
eyes as he held out both hands to him. "Ah, my friend," he said, "how happy
you must be in the happiness you caused to us! Who could have thought, when I
entertained, as a passing guest, the friend of Pollio, that he would be the
saviour of my family? You must have thought poorly of us yesterday that I was
not at the exit from the amphitheatre to meet and thank you. But I hurried
home with Ennia, and having left her in charge of her mother and sister came
back to find you, but you had left, and I could learn no news of you. I
searched for some time, and then guessing that you had been brought home by
Scopus, I went back to the child, who is sorely ill. I fear that the strain
has been too much for her, and that we shall lose her. But how different from
what it would have been! To die is the lot of us all, and though I shall
mourn my child, it will be a different thing indeed from seeing her torn to
pieces before my eyes by the lion. She has recovered from her faint, but she
lies still and quiet, and scarce seems to hear what is said to her. Her eyes
are open, she has a happy smile on her lips, and I believe that she is well
content now that she has done what she deems her duty to her God. She smiled
when I told her this morning that I was coming over to see you, and said in a
whisper, 'I shall see him again, father.'"

"Would she like to see me now?" Beric said, making an effort to rise.

"No, not now, Beric. I don't think somehow that she meant that. The leech
said that she must be kept perfectly quiet; but I will send a slave with a
letter to you daily. Oh, what a day was yesterday! The woes of a lifetime
seemed centred in an hour. I know not how I lived as I sat there and waited
for the fatal moment. All the blood in my veins seemed to freeze up as she
was left alone in the arena. A mist came over my eyes. I tried to close them,
but could not. I saw nothing of the amphitheatre, nothing of the spectators,
nothing but her, till, at the sudden shout from the crowd, I roused myself
with a start. When I saw you beside her I thought at first that I dreamed;
but Aemilia suddenly clasped my arm and said, 'It is Beric!' Then I hoped
something, I know not what, until Nero said that you must meet the lion
unarmed.

"Then I thought all was over—that two victims were to die instead of
one. I tried to rise to cry to you to go, for that I would die by Ennia, but
my limbs refused to support me; and though I tried to shout I did but
whisper. What followed was too quick for me to mark. I saw the beast spring
at you; I saw a confused struggle; but not until I saw you rise and bow,
while the lion rolled over and over, bound and helpless, did I realize that
what seemed impossible had indeed come to pass, and that you, unarmed and
alone, had truly vanquished the terrible beast.

"I hear that all Rome is talking of nothing else. My friends, who poured
in all the evening to congratulate us, told me so, and that no such feat had
ever been seen in the arena."

"It does not seem much to me, Norbanus," Beric said. "It needed only some
coolness and strength, though truly I myself doubted, when Nero gave the
order to fight without weapons, if it could be done. I cannot but think that
Ennia's God and mine aided me."

"It is strange," Norbanus said, "that one so young and weak as Ennia
should have shown no fear, and that the other Christians should all have met
their fate with so wonderful a calm. As you know, I have thought that all
religions were alike, each tribe and nation having its own. But methinks
there must be something more in this when its votaries are ready so to die
for it."

"Do not linger with me," Beric said. "You must be longing to be with your
child. Pray, go at once. She must be glad to have you by her, even if she
says little. I thank you for your promise to send news to me daily. If she
should express any desire to see me, I will get Scopus to provide a vehicle
to carry me to Rome; but in a few days I hope to be about."

"Your first visit must be to Caesar, when you are well enough to walk,"
Norbanus said. "They tell me he bade you come to see him, and he would be
jealous did he know that he was not the first in your thoughts."

Norbanus returned to Rome, and each day a letter came to Beric. The news
was always the same; there was no change in Ennia's condition.

Beric's wound healed rapidly. Hard work and simple living had so toughened
his frame that a wound that might have been serious affected him only
locally, and mended with surprising rapidity. In a week he was up and about,
and three days later he felt well enough to go to Rome.

"You would have been better for a few days more rest," Scopus said, "but
Nero is not fond of being kept waiting; and if he really wishes to see you it
would be well that you present yourself as soon as possible."

"I care nothing for Nero," Beric said; "but I should be glad, for the sake
of Norbanus, to see his daughter. It may be that my presence might rouse her
and do her good. I want none of Nero's favours; they are dangerous at best.
His liking is fatal. He has now murdered Britannicus, his wife Octavia, and
his mother Agrippina. He has banished Seneca, and every other adviser he had
he has either executed or driven into exile."

"That is all true enough, Beric, though it is better not said. Still, you
must remember you have no choice. There is no thwarting Nero; if he designs
to bestow favours upon you, you must accept them. I agree with you that they
are dangerous; but you know how to guard yourself. A man who has fought a
lion with naked hands may well manage to escape even the clutches of Nero. He
has struck down the greatest and richest; but it is easier for one who is
neither great nor rich to escape. At any rate, Beric, I have a faith in your
fortune. You have gone through so much, that I think surely some god protects
you. By the way, what are you going to do with that basketful of women's
ornaments that I have locked up in my coffer?"

"I thought no more about them, Scopus."

"I should advise you to sell them. In themselves they are useless to you.
But once turned into money they may some day stand you in good stead. They
are worth a large sum, I can tell you, and I don't care about keeping them
here. None of my school are condemned malefactors. I would never take such
men, even to please the wealthiest patron. But there is no use in placing
temptation before any, and Porus and Lupus will have told how the Roman
ladies flung their bracelets to you. I will take them down to a goldsmith who
works for some of my patrons, and get him to value them, if you will."

"Thank you, Scopus, I shall be glad to get rid of them. How would you
dress for waiting on Caesar?"

"I have been thinking it over," Scopus said. "I should say well, and yet
not too well. You are a free man, for although Nero disposed of you as if you
had been slaves, you were not enslaved nor did you bear the mark of slavery,
therefore you have always dressed like a free man. Again, you are a chief
among your own people; therefore, as I say, I should dress well but quietly.
Nero has many freedmen about him, and though some of these provoke derision
by vying with the wealthiest, this I know would never be done by you, even
did you bask in the favour of Nero. A white tunic and a paenula of fine white
cloth or a lacerna, both being long and ample so as to fall in becoming
folds, would be the best. As I shall ride into Rome with you, you can there
get one before going to see Nero."

On arriving at Rome Beric was soon fitted with a cloak of fine white
stuff, the folds of which showed off his figure to advantage. Scopus
accompanied him to Nero's palace.

"I know several of his attendants," he said, "and can get you passed in to
the emperor, which will save you waiting hours, perhaps, before you can
obtain an audience."

Taking him through numerous courts and along many passages they reached a
chamber where several officials of the palace were walking and talking,
waiting in readiness should they be required by Nero. Scopus went up to one
with whom he was well acquainted. After the usual greetings he explained to
him that he had, in accordance with Nero's order, brought the young Briton,
Beric, who had conquered the lion in the arena, and begged him to ask the
emperor whether he would choose to give him audience at present.

"I will acquaint his chief chamberlain at once, Scopus, and will ask him,
for your sake, to choose his moment for telling Nero. It may make a great
difference in the fortunes of the young man whether Caesar is in a good
temper or not when he receives him. It is not often at present that he is in
bad humour. Since the fire his mind has been filled with great ideas, and he
thinks of little but making the city in all respects magnificent, and as he
loves art in every way this is a high delight to him; therefore, unless aught
has gone wrong with him, he will be found accessible. I will go to the
chamberlain at once, my Scopus."

It was half an hour before he returned. "The chamberlain said that there
could not be a better time for your gladiator to see Caesar, and therefore he
has spoken to him at once, and Nero has ordered the Briton to be brought to
him. These two officials will conduct him at once to his presence."

Beric was taken in charge by the two ushers, and was led along several
passages, in each of which a guard was on duty, until they reached a massive
door. Here two soldiers were stationed. The ushers knocked. Another official
presented himself at the door, and, beckoning to Beric to follow him, pushed
aside some rich hangings heavy with gold embroidery. They were now in a small
apartment, the walls of which were of the purest white marble, and the
furniture completely covered with gold. Crossing this he drew another set of
hangings aside, entered with Beric, bowed deeply, and saying, "This is the
Briton, Caesar," retired, leaving Beric standing before the emperor.

The apartment was of moderate size, exquisitely decorated in Greek
fashion. One end was open to a garden, where plants and shrubs of the most
graceful foliage, brought from many parts of the world, threw a delicious
shade. Statues of white marble gleamed among them, and fountains of perfumed
waters filled the air with sweet odours. Nero sat in a simple white tunic
upon a couch, while a black slave, of stature rivalling that of Beric,
kneeled in front of him holding out a great sheet of parchment with designs
of some of the decorations of his new palace. Nero waved his hand, and the
slave, rolling up the parchment, took his stand behind the emperor's couch.
The latter looked long and steadily at him before speaking, as if to read his
disposition.

"Beric," he said, "I have seen you risk your life for one who was but
little to you, for I have spoken to Norbanus, and have learned from him the
nature of your acquaintance with him, and found that you have seen but little
of this young maiden for whom you were ready to risk what seemed certain
death. Moreover, she was but a young girl, and her life can have had no
special value in your eyes; therefore, it seems to me that you are one who
would be a true and faithful friend indeed to a man who on his part was a
friend to you. You have the other qualities of bravery and skill and
strength. Moreover, you belong to no party in Rome. I have inquired
concerning you, and find that although Pollio, the nephew of Norbanus,
introduced you to many of his friends, you have gone but little among them,
but have spent your time much, when not in the ludus, in the public
libraries. Being myself a lover of books, the report inclines me the more
toward you. I feel that I could rely upon you, and you would find in me not a
master but a friend. Of those around me I can trust but few. They serve from
interest, and if their interest lay the other way they would desert me. I
have many enemies, and though the people love me, the great families, whose
connections and relations are everywhere, think only of their private aims
and ends, and many deem themselves to have reasons for hatred against me. I
need one like you, brave, single minded, resolute, and faithful to me, who
would be as simple and as true when raised to wealth and honour as you have
shown yourself when but a simple gladiator. Wilt thou be such a one to
me?"

"I am but ill fitted for such a post, Caesar," Beric said gravely. "I have
been a chief and leader of my own people, and my tongue would never bring
itself to utter the flattering words used by those who surround an imperial
throne. Monarchs love not the truth, and my blunt speech would speedily
offend you. A faithful guard to your majesty I might be, more than that I
fear I never could be, for even to please you, Nero, I could not say aught
except what I thought."

"I should expect and wish for no more," Nero said. "It is good to hear the
truth sometimes. I heard it from Seneca; but, alas! I did not value it then
as I should have done. I am older and wiser now. Besides, Seneca was a Roman,
and necessarily mixed up in the intrigues that are ever on foot, and
connected with half the great families in Rome. You stand alone, and I should
know that whatever you said the words would be your own, and would not have
been put in your mouth by others, and even when your opinions ran counter to
mine I should respect them. Well, what do you say?"

"It is not for me to bargain with the master of Rome," Beric said. "I am
ready to be your man, Caesar, to lay down my life in your defence, to be your
guard as a faithful hound might be; only, I pray you, take me not in any way
into your confidence as to state affairs, for of these I am wholly ignorant.
My ideas are those of a simple British chief. Rome and its ways are too
complicated for me to understand, and were you to speak to me on such matters
I should soon forfeit your favour. For we in Britain are, as it were, people
of another world—simple and straightforward in our thoughts and ways,
and with no ideas of state expediency. Therefore, I pray you, let me stand
aloof from all such matters, and regard me simply as one ready to strike and
die in your defence, and as having no more interest or knowledge of state
affairs and state intrigues than those statues in the garden there."

"So be it," Nero said. "You are modest, Beric, and modesty is a virtue
rare in Rome; but I appreciate your honesty, and feel sure that I can rely
upon you for faithful service. Let me see, to what office shall I appoint
you? I cannot call you my bodyguard, for this would excite the jealousy of
the Praetorians." He sat in thought for a minute. "Ah!" he exclaimed, "you
are fond of books, I will appoint you my private librarian. My libraries are
vast, but I will have a chamber close to mine own fitted up with the choicest
books, so that I can have ready at hand any that I may require. This will be
an excuse for having you always about my person."

"I do not speak Greek, Caesar."

"You shall have under you a Greek freedman, one Chiton, who is now in my
library. He will take charge of the rolls, for I do not intend that you
should remain shut up there. It is but a pretext for your presence here."

He touched a bell and a servant entered. "Tell Phaon to come to me." A
minute later Phaon, a freedman who stood very high in the confidence of Nero,
entered.

"Phaon," the emperor said, "this is Beric the Briton, he has entered my
service, and will have all my trust and confidence even as you have. Prepare
for him apartments close to mine, and appoint slaves for his service. See
that he has everything in accordance with his position as a high official of
the palace. Let one of the rooms be furnished with sets of books, of which I
will give you a list, from my library. Chiton is to be in charge of it under
him. Beric is to be called my private librarian. I wish him to be at all
times within call of me. You will be friends with Beric, Phaon, for he is as
honest as you are, and will be, like you, a friend of mine, and, as you may
perceive, is one capable of taking part of a friend in case of need."

Phaon bowed deeply and signed to Beric to follow him; the latter bowed to
Nero, who nodded to him pleasantly, and left the room with Phaon. The
freedman took him to his private apartment.

"Nero has chosen well this time, methinks," he said after a close scrutiny
of the newcomer. "It is no easy post on which you have entered, Beric. Nero
is changeable in his moods, but you carry your heart in your face, and even
he can have no suspicions of you. Take my advice, make friends with no man,
for one who stands high in court favour today may be an exile or condemned
tomorrow, and then all connected with him in any way are apt to share his
fate; therefore, it is best to stand quite alone. By tomorrow morning you
will find everything in readiness for you here."

XVI. — IN NERO'S PALACE

UPON leaving Phaon, Beric was conducted to the room where
he had left
Scopus. The latter at once joined him, and without asking any questions left
the palace with him.

"I would ask nothing until you were outside," Scopus said. "They were
wondering there at the long audience you have had with Nero. Judging by the
gravity of your face, things have not gone well with you."

"They have gone well in one sense," Beric said, "though I would vastly
rather that they had gone otherwise. I feel very much more fear now than when
I stood awaiting the attack of the lion."

And he then related to Scopus the conversation he had had with Nero. The
lanista inclined himself humbly to the ground.

"You are a great man now, Beric, though, as you say, the place is not
without its dangers. I guessed when Caesar sent for you that he purposed to
use your strength and courage in his service. Your face is one that invites
trust, and Nero was wise enough to see that if he were to trust you he must
trust you altogether. He has acted wisely. He deemed that, having no friends
and connections in Rome, he could rely upon you as he could rely upon no one
who is a native here. You will be a great man, for a time at any rate."

"I would rather have remained at your ludus, Scopus. I shall feel like a
little dog I saw the other day in a cage of one of the lions. The beast
seemed fond of it, but the little creature knew well that at any moment the
lion might stretch out its paw and crush it."

Scopus nodded.

"That is true enough, Beric, though there are tens of thousands in Rome
who would gladly run the risk for the sake of the honour and profit. Still,
as I said to you before we started, I have faith in your good fortune and
quickness, and believe that you may escape from the bars where another would
lose his skin. Tell to none but myself what Caesar has said to you. The world
will soon guess that your post as private librarian is but a pretext for
Caesar to have you near him. It is not by such a post that the victor of the
arena would be rewarded." They now went together to a goldsmith.

"Ah! Scopus, I have been expecting you. I saw you in the arena with your
two gladiators. Afterwards I saw this tall young Briton fight the lion, and
when I heard that he was at your ludus I said to myself, 'Scopus will be
bringing him to me to dispose of some of the jewelry to which the ladies were
so prodigal.'"

"That is our errand, Rufus. Here is the bag."

The goldsmith opened it.

"You don't expect me to name a price for all these articles, Scopus? It
will take me a day to examine and appraise them; and, indeed, I shall have to
go to a friend or two for money, for there is enough here to stock a shop.
Never did I know our ladies so liberal of their gifts."

"Ah!" Scopus said, "and you don't often see gifts so well deserved; but,
mind you, if it had been I who had fought the lion—I, who have nothing
to recommend me in the way of either stature or looks—it would have
been a very different thing. Youth and stature and good looks go for a great
deal even in the arena, I can tell you. Well, Beric will call in a day or
two. Here is the inventory of the jewels; I have got a copy at home. Do you
put the price you will give against each, and then he can sell or not as he
pleases. He is not going to sacrifice them, Rufus, for he has no need of
money; Caesar has just appointed him to his household."

The manner of the jeweller changed at once.

"The list shall be ready for you in two days," he said to Beric
respectfully. "If you have need of money on account now I can let you have as
much as you will." Beric shook his head.

"I have all that I require," he said. "I will return it may be in two
days, it may be more—I know not precisely how much my duties may occupy
me."

"You will get full value for your goods," Scopus said when they left the
shop—"that was why I mentioned that you had entered Nero's household,
for it is a great thing to have a friend at court."

"And how about yourself, Scopus? You have kept me and trained me for
months. Now you are going to lose my services just when you might begin to
get a return. Moreover, I may tell you that I shall as soon as possible get
Boduoc with me. So you must name a sum which will amply recompense you for
the trouble and expense that you have had with us."

"I shall be no loser, Beric. When captives in war are sent to be trained
in a ludus the lanista is paid for a year's keep and tuition for them. After
that he makes what he can from those who give entertainments. Therefore I
received from the imperial treasury the regular amount for you and your
comrades. Moreover, the senator who gave the performances sent me a very
handsome sum—more than he had agreed to give me for Porus and Lupus
together— saying that, although he had not engaged you, your deeds in
the arena had delighted the people beyond measure, and that as his show would
be talked about for years, it was but fair he should pay your lanista a sum
worthy of the performance. And now farewell! You know that I and your
comrades at the ludus will always be glad to see you. We shall be back in
Rome as soon as my place is rebuilt."

"You may be sure that I will come, Scopus. You have shown me much
kindness, and if in any way I can repay you I will do so. Tell Boduoc I hope
very shortly to have him with me, and that maybe I shall be able to find
means of withdrawing the others from the arena."

As soon as they separated Beric walked rapidly to the house where Norbanus
had taken up his abode. As he reached the door he paused, for he heard within
the sounds of wailing, and felt that he had come too late.

"Tell Norbanus," he said to the slave at the door, "that Beric is here,
but that unless he wishes to see me I will leave him undisturbed, as I fear
by the cries that the Lady Ennia is dead."

"She died early this morning," the slave said. "I will tell my master that
you are here."

He returned almost directly.

"Norbanus prays you to enter," he said, and led the way to the
magistrate's study.

"Ah, my friend," the Roman said, "it is over! Ennia died this morning. She
passed away as if in sleep. It is a terrible grief to me. Thanks to the gods
I can bear that as becomes a Roman; but how would it have been had I seen her
torn to pieces under my eyes? Ah, Beric you know not from what you have saved
us! We could never have lifted up our heads again had she died so. Now we
shall grieve for her as all men grieve for those they love; but it will be a
grief without pain, for assuredly she died happy. She spoke of you once or
twice, and each time she said, 'I shall see him again.'I think she was
speaking her belief, that she should meet you after death. The Christian
belief in a future state is like yours, you know, Beric, rather than like
ours."

"She was a gentle creature," Beric said, "and as she dared even death by
the lions for her God, assuredly she will go to the Happy Island, though it
may not be the same that the Druids tell us Britons of. And how are the
Ladies Lesbia and Aemilia?"

"My wife is well," the magistrate said. "She has not the consolations of
philosophy as I have, but I think that she feels it is better for the child
herself that she should have so died. Ennia would always have remained a
Christian, and fresh troubles and persecutions would have come. Besides, her
religion would have put her apart from her mother and her family. To me, of
course, it would have made no difference, holding the views that I do as to
the religions of the world; but my wife sees things in a different light.
Aemilia is worn out with watching and grief, but I know that she will see you
presently, that is, if you are not compelled to return at once to the
hills."

"I return there no more. I have seen Nero today, and he has appointed me
an official in his household. It will seem ridiculous to you when I say that
I am to be his private librarian. That, of course, is but a pretext to keep
me near his person, deeming that I am strong enough to be a useful guard to
him, and being a stranger am not likely to be engaged in any intrigue that
may be going on. I would rather have remained at the ludus for a time; but
there is no refusing the offers of an emperor, and he spoke to me fairly, and
I answered him as one man should do another, frankly and openly."

"Nero has done wisely," Norbanus said warmly, "though for you the
promotion is perilous. To be Nero's friend is to be condemned beforehand to
death, though for a time he may shower favours upon you. He is fickle and
inconstant, and you have not learned to cringe and flatter, and are as likely
as not to anger him by your outspoken utterances."

"I shall assuredly say what I think if he questions me," Beric said
quietly; "but if he values me as a guard, he will scarce question me when he
knows that I should express an opinion contrary to his own."

"When do you enter his service, Beric?"

"I am to present myself tomorrow morning."

"Then you will stay with us tonight, Beric. This is a house of mourning,
but you are as one of ourselves. You must excuse ceremony, for I have many
arrangements to make, as Ennia will be buried tomorrow."

"I will go out into the garden," Beric said.

"Do so. I will send up word to Aemilia that you are there. Doubtless she
would rather meet you there than before the slaves."

Beric had been sitting in the shade for half an hour when he saw Aemilia
coming towards him. Her face was swollen with crying, and the tears were
still streaming down her cheeks. Beric took her hand, and would have bent
over it, when she grasped his with both of hers and pressed it to her
lips.

"Oh, Beric," she cried, "what have you not done for us, and how much do we
not owe you! Had it not been for you, I should be mourning now, not for Ennia
who lies with a smile on her face in her chamber, but for Ennia torn to
pieces and devoured by the lion. It seemed to me that I too should die, when
suddenly you stood between her and the fierce beast, seeming to my eyes as if
a god had come down to save her; and when all the people gave you up as lost,
standing there unarmed and calmly waiting the lion's attack, I felt that you
would conquer. Truly Ennia's God and yours must have stood beside you, though
I saw them not. How else could you have been so strong and fearless? Ennia
thought so too. She told me so one night when the house was asleep, and I
only watching beside her. 'My God was with him,' she said. 'None other could
have given him the strength to battle with the lion. He will bring him to
Himself in good time, and I shall meet him again.'She said something about
your knowing that she was a Christian. But, of course, you could not have
known that."

"I did know it, Aemilia;" and Beric then told her of his meeting with
Ennia and the old slave when they were attacked by the plunderers on the way
home from their place of meeting. "She promised me not to go again," he said,
"without letting me know, in which case I should have escorted her and
protected her from harm. But just after that there was the fire, and I had to
go away with Scopus to the Alban Hills; and so, as she knew that I could not
escort her, I never heard from her. I would that I had been with her that
night she was arrested, then she might not have fallen into the hands of the
guard. Indeed, had I been here I would have gone gladly, for it seemed to me
there must be something strange in the religion that would induce a quiet
gentle girl like her to go out at night unknown to her parents. Now I desire
even more to learn about it. Her God must surely have given her the strength
and courage that she showed when she chose death by lions rather than deny
Him."

"I, too, should like to know something about it," Aemilia said. "By the
way Ennia spoke, when she said you knew that she was a Christian, it seemed
to me that, if you did know, which I thought was impossible, she thought you
were angry with her for becoming a Christian."

"I was angry with her not for being a Christian, but for going out without
your father's knowledge, and I told her so frankly. If it had been you I
should not have been so much surprised, because you have high spirits and are
fearless in disposition; but for her to do so seemed so strange and
unnatural, that I deemed this religion of hers must be bad in that it taught
a girl to deceive her parents."

"What did she say, Beric?"

"I could see that she considered it her duty beyond all other duties, and
so said no more, knowing nothing of her religion beyond what your father told
me."

"I wish Pollio had been here," the girl said; "he would have thought as I
do about the loss of Ennia. My father has his philosophy, and considers it
rather a good thing to be out of the world. My mother was so horrified when
she heard that Ennia was a Christian, that I am sure she is relieved at her
death. I am not a philosopher, and it was nothing to me whether Ennia took up
with this new sect or not. So you see I have no one who can sympathize with
me. You can't think how dreadful the thought is that I shall be alone in
future."

"We grow accustomed to all things," Beric said. "I have lost all my
relations, my country, and everything, and I am here a stranger and little
better than a slave, and yet life seems not so unpleasant to me. In time this
grief will be healed, and you will be happy again."

"I am sure I should never have been happy, Beric, if she had died in the
arena. I should always have had it before my eyes—I should have dreamt
of it. But why do you say that until today you have been almost a slave? Why
is it different today?"

Beric told her of his new position.

"If I could take your position, and have your strength but for one night,"
Aemilia said passionately, "I would slay the tyrant. He is a monster. It is
to him that Ennia's death is due. He has committed unheard of crimes; and he
will kill you, too, Beric. He kills all those whom he once favours."

"I shall be on my guard, Aemilia; besides, my danger will not be great,
for he will have nothing to gain by my death. I shall keep aloof from all
intrigues, and he will have no reason to suspect me. The danger, if danger
there be, will come from my refusing to carry out any of his cruel orders. I
am ready to be a guard, but not an executioner."

"I know how it will end," the girl sighed; "but I shall hope always. You
conquered the lion, maybe you will conquer Nero."

"Who is a very much less imposing creature," Beric smiled. A slave girl at
this moment summoned Aemilia into the house. She waited a moment.

"Remember, Beric," she said, "that if trouble and danger come upon you,
any such poor aid as I can give will be yours. I am a Roman girl. I have not
the strength to fight as you have, but have the courage to die; and as, at
the risk of your life, you saved Ennia for us, so would I risk my life to
save yours. Remember that a woman can plot and scheme, and that in dealing
with Nero cunning goes for as much as strength. We have many relatives and
friends here, too, and Ennia's death in the arena would have been viewed as a
disgrace upon the whole family; so that I can rely upon help from them if
need be. Remember that, should the occasion arise, I shall feel your refusal
of my help much more bitterly than any misfortune your acceptance of it could
bring upon me." Then turning, the girl went up to the house.

On arriving at Nero's palace the next morning, and asking for Phaon, Beric
was at once conducted to his chamber.

"That is well," the freedman said as he entered. "Nero is in council with
his architects at present. I will show you to your chamber at once, so that
you will be in readiness."

The apartment to which Phaon led Beric was a charming one. It had no
windows in the walls, which were covered with exquisitely painted designs,
but light was given by an opening in the ceiling, under which, in the centre
of the room, was the shallow basin into which the rain that penetrated
through the opening fell. There were several elegantly carved couches round
the room. Some bronze statues stood on plinths, and some pots of tall aquatic
plants stood in the basin; heavy hangings covered the entrance.

"Here," Phaon said, drawing one of them aside, "is your cubicule, and
here, next to it, is another. It is meant for a friend of the occupant of the
room; but I should not advise you to have anyone sleep here. Nero would not
sleep well did he know that any stranger was so close to his apartment. This,
and the entrance at the other end of the room, lead into passages, while
this," and he drew back another curtain, "is the library."

This room was about the same size as that allotted to Beric, being some
twenty-five feet square. Short as the notice had been, a wooden framework of
cedar wood, divided into partitions fifteen inches each way, had been erected
round, and in each of these stood a wooden case containing rolls of
manuscripts, the name of the work being indicated by a label affixed to the
box. Seated at a table in one of the angles was the Greek Chiton, who saluted
Beric.

"We shall be good friends, I hope," Beric said, "for I shall have to rely
upon you entirely for the Greek books, and it is you who will be the real
librarian."

Chiton was a man of some thirty years of age, with a pale Greek face; and
looking at him earnestly Beric thought that it looked an honest one. He had
anticipated that the man Nero had chosen would be placed as a spy over him;
but he now concluded this was not so, and that Nero at present trusted him
entirely.

"This passage," Phaon said, "leads direct to Caesar's private apartment, a
few steps only separate them. The passage on this side of your room also
leads there, so that either from here or from it you can be summoned at once.
Now let us return to your room. It is from there you will generally go to
Nero when he summons you. That door at the end of the short passage will not
be kept locked, while this one from the library cannot be opened from your
side. Three strokes of Nero's bell will be the signal that he requires you.
If after the three have sounded there is another struck smartly, you will
snatch up your sword and rush in instantly by night or day."

"What are my duties to be?" Beric asked when they had returned to his
room, "for Chiton can discharge those of librarian infinitely better than I
can do."

"You will sit and read here, or pass the time as you like, until nine
o'clock, at which hour Nero goes to the baths. At eleven he goes out to
inspect the works or to take part in public ceremonies. At three he sups, and
the meal lasts sometimes till seven or eight, sometimes until midnight. Your
duties in the library will end when he goes to the baths, and after that you
will be free, unless he summons you to attend him abroad, until supper is
concluded. At night you will draw back the curtains between the passage and
your room and that of your cubicule, so that you may hear his summons, or
even his voice if loudly raised. You will lie down with your sword ready at
hand. I should say your duties will begin at six in the morning, and it is
only between that hour and nine that you will be a prisoner in the
library."

"I shall not find it an imprisonment," Beric said. "Three hours is little
enough to study, with all that wealth of books ready at hand. How about
Chiton?"

"He will be on duty whenever the emperor is in the palace; beyond that he
is free to go where he likes, so that he be ready at all times to produce any
book that Nero may call for. Your meals will be brought up to you by your
attendant from the imperial kitchen. There are, you know, baths in the palace
for the use of the officials. You will find in this chest a supply of
garments of all kinds suitable for different occasions, and here, in the
cubicule, ready to hand, are a sword and dagger, with a helmet, breastplate,
and shield, to be worn only when Caesar desires you to accompany him armed.
If there is anything else that you require, you have but to give the order to
your attendant, who will obtain it from the steward of the palace."

At this moment a slave drew aside the hanging: "Caesar expects you,
Beric."

Nero was standing at the top of the steps into the garden when Beric
entered.

"Walk with me, Beric," he said. "For three hours I have been going into
the affairs of the city, and hearing letters read from the governors of the
provinces. It will be a change to talk of other things. Tell me about this
Britain of yours. I know about your wars, tell me of your life at home."

Beric at once complied. He saw that it was not information about religion
and customs that the emperor desired to hear, but talk about simple matters
that would distract his thoughts from the cares of state. He talked, then, of
his native village, of his mother with her maids at work around her, of
hunting expeditions as a boy with Boduoc, and how both had had a narrow
escape of being devoured by wolves. Nero listened in silence as they strolled
under the deep shade of the trees. At times he hardly seemed to be listening,
but occasionally he asked a question that showed he was following what Beric
said.

"Your talk is like a breath from the snow clad mountains," he said at
last, "or a cup of cold water to a thirsty traveller. The word Romans never
occurred in it, and yet it was in our tongue. You were brought up among us,
as I heard. Tell me of that."

Briefly Beric described his life at Camalodunum.

"It is a strange mixture," Nero said; "the cultivated Roman and the wild
Briton. I understand now better than I did before, your risking your life for
the Christian girl in the arena. You did not love her?"

"No, Caesar; we Britons do not think of marriage until we are at least
five-and-twenty. We hold that young marriages deteriorate a race. Ennia was
little more than a child, according to our notions. She was scarce sixteen,
and when I saw her before, for a few days only, she was a year younger; but I
think that I should have done the same had I never seen her before. We
Britons, like the Gauls, hold women in high respect, and I think that few of
my people would hesitate to risk their lives to save a helpless woman."

"I think we are all for self here," Nero said; "but we can admire what we
should not think of imitating. I like you, Beric, because you are so
different from myself and from all around me. We are products of Rome, you of
the forest; every man here sighs for power or wealth, or lives for
pleasure—I as much as any. We suffer none to stand in our way, but
trample down remorselessly all who hinder us. As to risking our lives for the
sake of a woman, and that woman almost a stranger, such an idea would never
so much as occur to us. This is not the only girl you have saved. I received
a letter from Caius Muro some months ago, saying that the news had come to
him in Syria that Beric, the young chief of the Iceni, who had so long
withstood Suetonius, had been brought a prisoner to Rome, and he besought me,
should Beric still be alive, to show favour to him, as he had saved his
little daughter, when all others had been slain, at the sack of Camalodunum,
and that he had hidden her away until after the defeat of Boadicea, and had
then sent her safe and unharmed back to the Romans. The matter escaped my
mind till now, though, in truth, I bade my secretary write to him to say that
I would befriend you. But it is strange that, having so much life and spirit
in that great body of yours, you should yet hold life so cheaply. It was the
way with our forefathers, but it is not so now, perhaps because our life is
more pleasant than theirs was. Tell me, has Phaon done all to make you
comfortable? Is there aught else that you would wish? if so, speak
freely."

"There is one thing I should like, Caesar; I should like to have with me
my follower Boduoc, he who was the companion of my boyhood, who fought with
me in that hut against the wolves, and was ever by my side in the struggle
among our fens. I ask this partly for my own sake, and partly that I may the
better do the duty you have set me of acting as your guard. The air of
palaces is heavy, and men wake not from sleep as when they lie down in the
forest and carry their lives in their hands. I might not hear your call; but
with him with me we could keep alternate watch through the night, and the
slightest sounds would reach our ears. We could even take post close to the
hangings of your chamber, just as the Praetorians guard all the avenues on
the other side. I might even go further. There were twenty of my countrymen
brought hither with me. All are picked men, not one but in strength and
courage is my equal. I would say, place them in offices in the palace; make
them door keepers, or place some of them here as labourers under your
gardeners, then at all times you would have under your orders a body of
twenty devoted men, who would escort you in safety though half Rome were in
tumult. They would sleep together among the slaves, where I could instantly
summon them. I can answer for their fidelity, they would follow me to the
death against any foe I bade them attack."

"It is an excellent idea, Beric, and shall be carried out. They were all
sent to the ludi, if I mistake not, and will have skill as well as strength
and courage. I will bid my secretary send an order for their discharge, and
that they present themselves to Phaon tomorrow. He will find occupations for
them, and I will myself bid him so dispose of them that they shall be well
satisfied with their appointments. Truly, as you say, a guard of twenty
gladiators of your strength and courage might well defend me against a host.
Now it is time that I went to my bath."

Upon the following day the British captives were all disposed as door
keepers in the palace. Beric was present when they presented themselves
before Phaon, and had afterwards a private interview with them. They were
delighted at finding that they were again under his leadership. All hated as
much as ever the occupation of gladiator, although only the man who had
defeated Lupus had as yet appeared in the arena.

"Your duties will be simple and easy," Beric said. "You will only have to
see that no strangers pass you without authority. Each of you will have one
or more attendants with you, who will take the names of those who present
themselves to those whom they wish to see, and will, on bringing an
authorization for them to pass, escort them to the person with whom they have
business. Of course the orders will be different at different posts, but
these you will receive from the officials of the chamberlain. You will be on
duty, as I learn, for six hours each day, and will for the rest of the time
be free to go where you please. I suppose by this time all of you have
learned sufficient Latin to converse freely. Remember that at nine o'clock in
the evening you must all be in the palace. Phaon has arranged for an
apartment that you will occupy together. There you will keep your arms, and
be always ready, when you receive a message from me, to attend prepared for
fighting. There is one thing more: do not mingle with the Romans more than
you can help; listen to no tales relating to the emperor, and let no man
discuss with you any question of state. Everything that is done in the palace
is known, and were you seen talking with any man who afterwards fell under
the suspicion of Nero it might cost you your lives. Remember that, whatever
may be the duties assigned to you here, we are really assembled as a sort of
special bodyguard to him; he is our general. It is no business of ours what
his private acts may be. It may be that he is cruel to the powerful and
wealthy, but on the other hand he spends his money lavishly on the people of
Rome, and is beloved by them. If they as Romans do not resent his acts
towards senators and patricians it is no business of ours, strangers and
foreigners here, to meddle in the matter. It may be that in time, if we do
our duty well, Nero may permit us to return to Britain."

There was a murmur of approval.

"Nero may cut off the head of every man in Rome for what I care," Boduoc
said. "I owe nothing to the Romans. They are all our enemies, from the
highest to the lowest; and if Nero is disposed to be our friend he can do
what he likes with them. But I do wish he had given us something more to do
than to hang about his palace."

Six months passed. Beric stood high in favour with Nero. Two or three
times, in order to test the vigilance of his guard, he had sounded his bell.
On each occasion an armed figure had instantly entered his room, only to
retire when he waved his hand; so that the slave who slept at the other door
found Nero alone when he entered, and brought him a cooling drink, or
performed some other little office that served as an excuse for his summons,
the emperor being well aware how great would be the jealousy of the
Praetorian guard, were report to reach them that Caesar had guards save
themselves.

Beric often followed in the train of the emperor when he went abroad; and
as it speedily became known that he was a favourite of Nero, his friendship
was eagerly sought by those who frequented the court, and his good offices
solicited by those who had requests to make of the emperor. Large sums of
money had been sometimes offered him for his good offices, but he steadily
refused to accept any presents whatever, or to mingle in the affairs of
others, except in very occasional cases, where it seemed to him that those
who sought his aid had been cruelly and unfairly dealt with by officials or
venal magistrates.

The sale of his jewels had brought him in a large sum of money, which he
had placed in the hands of Norbanus; and the handsome appointments Nero had
assigned to his office were very much more than sufficient for his wants. He
was always a welcome guest at the house of Norbanus, and now that he was an
official high in favour with Nero, even Lesbia received him with marked
courtesy. The conversation always turned, when the ladies were present, upon
general topics—the gossip of society in Rome, news from the provinces,
and other similar matters, for Beric begged them not to speak of the serious
events of the day.

"I am one of Nero's guards, and I do not want to have to hate my work, or
to wish well to those from whom I am bound to protect him. To me he is kind
and friendly. At times when I am with him in the garden or alone in his room
he talks to me as an equal, of books and art, the condition of the people,
and other topics.

"It seems to me that there are two Neros: the one a man such as he was
when he ascended the throne—gentle; inclined to clemency; desirous of
the good of his people, and of popularity; a lover of beautiful things;
passionately devoted to art in all its branches; taking far greater pleasure
in the society of a few intimate friends than in state pageants and
ceremonies. There is another Nero; of him I will not talk. I desire, above
all things, not to know of him. I believe that he has been driven to this war
upon many of the best and worthiest in Rome, by timidity. He is suspicious.
Possibly he has reason for his suspicions; possibly they are unfounded. I do
not wish to defend him. All this is a matter for you Romans, and not for me.
I wish to know nothing about it; to leave all public matters to those they
may concern; to shut my eyes and my ears as much as I can to all that goes on
around me. It is for that reason that I go so little to other houses save
this. I meet those about the court at the baths, the gymnasium, and in the
streets. But at these places men speak not of public affairs, they know not
who may be listening; and certainly they would not speak before me. Happily,
as I am known to stand high in Caesar's favour, I am the last person to whom
they would say aught in his blame. Thus it is that, though sometimes I come,
from chance words let fall, to know that proscriptions, accusations,
confiscations, and executions take place; that the Christians are still
exposed to horrible persecutions and tortures; that a gloom hangs over
society, and that no man of wealth and high station can regard himself as
safe, it is only a vague rumour of these things that I hear; and by keeping
my ears sealed and refusing to learn particulars, to listen to private griefs
and individual suffering, I am still able to feel that I can do my duty to
Caesar."

Norbanus and Lesbia alike agreed with Beric's reasoning; the former,
indeed, himself took but comparatively little interest in what passed around
him. The latter was, on the other hand, absorbed in the politics of the hour.
She was connected with many noble families, and knew that a member of these
might fall at any moment under Nero's displeasure. To have a friend, then,
high in the favour of Nero was a matter of great importance; and she
therefore impressed upon all her intimates that when they found Beric at her
house they should scrupulously avoid all discussion of public affairs.

XVII. — BETROTHAL

NERO had, within a short time of Beric's establishment in
the palace,
spoken to him of his apprehension of the increasing power of the party who,
having reverted to the opinions of the Stoic philosophers, were ever
denouncing the luxury and extravagance of modern ways, and endeavouring, both
by example and precept, to reintroduce the simplicity and severity of former
times.

"All this," Nero said angrily, "is of course but a cloak under which to
attack me. Piso and Plautus, Seneca and Lucan, do but assume this severity of
manners. They have plotted and intrigued against me. I shall never be safe
while they live."

"Caesar," Beric said gravely, "I am but a soldier, but born a free Briton
and a chief. I cannot sell my service, but must give it loyally and heartily.
You honour me with your favour and confidence; I believe that I am worthy of
it. I do not serve you for money. Already I have begged you not to heap
presents upon me. Wealth would be useless to me did I desire it. Not only
have you offered to bestow estates upon me, but I have learned already that
there are many others who, seeing that I am favoured by you, would purchase
my friendship or my advocacy by large sums. I should despise myself if I
cared for money. You would, I know honour me not only with your trust that I
can be relied upon to do my duty as your guard, but by treating me as one in
your confidence in other matters. At the risk, then, of exciting your
displeasure and forfeiting your favour, I must again pray you not to burden
me with state matters. Of these I know nothing, and wish to know nothing.
Save that of Seneca, I scarce know the names of the others of whom you have
spoken. I am wholly ignorant of the intrigues of court life, and I seek to
know nothing of them, and am therefore in no position to give any opinion on
these matters; and did I speak from only partial knowledge I should do these
men great wrong.

"In the next place, Caesar, I am not one who has a double face, and if you
ask my opinion of a matter in which I thought that others had ill advised
you, I should frankly say that I thought you were wrong; and the truth is
never palatable to the great. I try, therefore, to shut my ears to everything
that is going on around me, for did I take note of rumours my loyalty to you
might be shaken."

"Perhaps you are right," Nero said, after a long pause. "But tell me, once
and for all, what you do think on general matters. It is good to have the
opinion of one whom I know to be honest."

"On one subject only are my convictions strong, Caesar. I think that the
terrible persecution of the Christians is in itself horrible, and contrary to
all the traditions of Rome. These are harmless people. They make no
disturbances; they do injury to no one; they are guilty of no act that would
justify in any way the tortures inflicted upon them. I am not a Christian, I
know nothing of their doctrines; but I am unable to understand how one
naturally clement and kind hearted as you are can give way to the clamour of
the populace against these people. As to those of whom you speak, and others,
I have no opinions; but were I Caesar, strong in the support of the
Praetorian guards, and in the affection of the people at large, I would
simply despise plotters. The people may vaguely admire the doctrines of the
Stoics, but they themselves love pleasure and amusements and spectacles, and
live upon your bounty and generosity. There can then be nothing to fear from
open force. Should there be conspirators who would attempt to compass their
ends by assassination, you have your guards to protect you. You have myself
and my little band of countrymen ready to watch over you unceasingly."

"No care and caution will avail against the knife of the assassin," Nero
said gloomily. "It is only by striking down conspirators and assassins that
one can guard one's self against their weapons. Julius Caesar was killed when
surrounded by men whom he deemed his friends."

Beric could not deny the truth of Nero's words. "That is true, Caesar, and
therefore I do not presume to criticise or even to have an opinion upon acts
of state policy. These are matters utterly beyond me. I know nothing of the
history of the families of Rome. I know not who may, with or without reason,
deem that they have cause of complaint against you, or who may be hostile to
you either from private grievances or personal ambitions, and knowing nothing
I wish to know nothing. I desire, as I said when you first spoke to me, to be
regarded as a watchdog, to be attached to you by personal kindness, and to
guard you night and day against conspirators and assassins. I beseech you not
to expect more from me, or to deem it possible that a Briton can be qualified
to give any opinion whatever as to a matter so alien to him as the intrigues
and conspiracies of an imperial city. Did I agree with you, you would soon
doubt my honesty; did I differ from you, I should incur your
displeasure."

Nero looked up at the frank countenance of the young Briton.

"Enough," he said smiling, "you shall be my watchdog and nothing
more."

As time went on Nero's confidence in his British guard steadily increased.
He had his spies, and knew how entirely Beric kept himself aloof from
intimate acquaintanceship with any save the family of Norbanus, and learned,
too, that he had refused many large bribes from suitors. For a time, although
he knew it not, Beric was constantly watched. His footsteps were followed
when he went abroad, his conversations with others in the baths, which formed
the great centres of meeting, and stood to the Romans in the place of modern
clubs, were listened to and noted. It was observed that he seldom went to
convivial gatherings, and that at any place when the conversation turned on
public affairs he speedily withdrew; that he avoided all display of wealth,
dressed as quietly as it was possible for one in the court circle to do, and
bore himself as simply as when he had been training in the ludus of Scopus.
There he still went very frequently, practising constantly in arms with his
former companions, preferring this to the more formal exercises of the
gymnasium. Thus, after a time, Nero became confirmed in his opinion of
Beric's straightforward honesty, and felt that there was no fear of his being
tampered with by his enemies.

One result of this increased confidence was that Beric's hours of leisure
became much restricted, for Nero came to require his attendance whenever he
appeared in public. With Beric and Boduoc among the group of courtiers that
followed him, the emperor felt assured there was no occasion to fear the
knife of the assassin; and it was only when he was at the baths, where only
his most chosen friends were admitted, or during the long carousals that
followed the suppers, that Beric was at liberty, and in the latter case
Boduoc was always near at hand in case of need.

Nero's precautions were redoubled after the detection of the conspiracy of
Piso. That this plot was a real one, and not a mere invention of Nero to
justify his designs upon those he hated and feared, is undoubted. The hour
for the attempt at assassination had been fixed, the chief actor was prepared
and the knife sharpened. But the executions that followed embraced many who
had no knowledge whatever of the plot. Seneca was among the victims against
whom there was no shadow of proof.

After the discovery of this plot Beric found his position more and more
irksome in spite of the favour Nero showed him. Do what he would he could not
close his ears to what was public talk in Rome. The fabulous extravagances of
Nero, the public and unbounded profligacy of himself and his court, the open
defiance of decency, the stupendous waste of public money on the new and most
sumptuous palace into which he had now removed, were matters that scandalized
even the population of Rome. Senators, patricians, grave councillors, noble
matrons were alike willingly or unwillingly obliged to join in the saturnalia
that prevailed. The provinces were ruined to minister to the luxury of Rome.
The wealth of the noblest families was sequestrated to the state. All law,
order, and decency were set at defiance.

To the Britons, simple in their tastes and habits, this profusion of
luxury, this universal profligacy seemed absolutely monstrous. When they met
together and talked of their former life in their rude huts, it seemed that
the vengeance of the gods must surely fall upon a people who seemed to have
lost all sense of virtue, all respect for things human and divine. To Beric
the only bearable portions of his existence were the mornings he spent in
reading, and in the study of Greek with Chiton, and in the house of Norbanus.
Of Lesbia he saw little. She spent her life in a whirl of dissipation and
gaiety, accompanying members of her family to all the fetes in defiance of
the wishes of Norbanus, whose authority in this matter she absolutely set at
naught.

"The emperor's invitations override the authority of one who makes himself
absurd by his presumption of philosophy. I live as do other Roman ladies of
good family. Divorce me if you like; I have the fortune I brought you, and
should prefer vastly to go my own way."

This step Norbanus would have taken but for the sake of Aemilia. By his
orders the latter never went abroad with her mother or attended any of the
public entertainments, but lived in the quiet society of the personal friends
of Norbanus. Lesbia had yielded the point, for she did not care to be
accompanied by a daughter of marriageable age, as by dint of cosmetics and
paint she posed as still a young woman. Aemilia had long since recovered her
spirits, and was again the merry girl Beric had known at Massilia.

One day when Beric called he saw that Norbanus, who was seldom put out by
any passing circumstance, was disturbed in mind.

"I am troubled indeed," he said, in answer to Beric's inquiry. "Lesbia has
been proposing to me the marriage of Rufinus Sulla, a connection of hers,
and, as you know, one of Nero's intimates, with Aemilia."

Beric uttered an exclamation of anger.

"He is one of the worst of profligates," he exclaimed. "I would slay him
with my own hand rather than that Aemilia should be sacrificed to him."

"And I would slay her first," Norbanus said calmly; "but, as Lesbia
threatened when I indignantly refused the proposal, Rufinus has but to ask
Nero's approval, and before his orders my authority as a father goes for
nothing. I see but one way. It has seemed to me for a long time, Beric, that
you yourself felt more warmly towards Aemilia than a mere friend. Putting
aside our obligations to you for having risked your life in defence of Ennia,
there is no one to whom I would more willingly give her. Have I been mistaken
in your thoughts of her?"

"By no means," Beric said. "I love your daughter Aemilia, but I have never
spoken of it to you for two reasons. In the first place I shall not be for
some years of the age at which we Britons marry, and in the second I am but a
captive. At present I stand high in the favour of Nero, but that favour may
fail me at any day, and my life at the palace is becoming unbearable; but
besides, it is impossible that this orgy of crime and debauchery can
continue. The vengeance of heaven cannot be much longer delayed. The legions
in the provinces are utterly discontented and well nigh mutinous, and even if
Rome continues to support Nero the time cannot be far off when the legions
proclaim either Galba, or Vespasian, or some other general, as emperor, and
then the downfall of Nero must come. How then could I ask you for the hand of
Aemilia, a maiden of noble family, when the future is all so dark and
troubled and my own lot so uncertain?

"I cannot raise my sword against Caesar, for, however foul his crimes, he
has treated me well. Had it not been for that I would have made for
Praeneste, when the gladiators rose there the other day, and for the same
reason I can do nothing to prepare the way for a rising here. I know the
ludus of Scopus would join to a man. There is great discontent among the
other schools, for the people have become so accustomed to bloodshed that
they seem steeled to all pity, and invariably give the signal for the
despatch of the conquered. As to your offer, Norbanus, I thank you with all
my heart; but were it not for this danger that threatens from Rufinus, I
would say that at the present time I dare not link her lot to mine. The
danger is too great, the future too dark. It seems to me that the city and
all in it are seized with madness, and above all, at the present time, I
would not for worlds take her to the palace of Nero. But if Aemilia will
consent to a betrothal to me, putting off the period of marriage until the
times are changed, I will, with delight, accept the offer of her hand, if she
too is willing, for in Briton, as in Gaul, our maidens have a voice in their
own disposal."

Norbanus smiled. "Methinks, Beric, you need not fear on that score. Since
the day when you fought the lion in the arena you have been her hero and the
lord of her heart. Even I, although but short sighted as to matters
unconnected with my work, could mark that, and I believe it is because her
mother sees and fears it that she has determined to marry her to Rufinus. I
will call her down to find out whether she is ready to obey my wishes."

In a minute or two Aemilia came down from the women's apartments
above.

"My child," Norbanus said, "I have offered you in marriage to Beric. He
has accepted, saving only that you must come to him not in obedience to my
orders but of your own free will, since it is the custom of his country that
both parties should be equally free of choice. What do you say, my
child?"

Aemilia had flushed with a sudden glow of colour as her father began, and
stood with downcast eyes until he had finished.

"One moment before you decide, Aemilia," Beric said. "You know how I am
situated, and that at any moment I may be involved in peril or death; that
life with me can scarcely be one of ease or luxury, and that even at the best
you may be an exile for ever from Rome."

She looked up now. "I love you, Beric," she said. "I would rather live in
a cottage with you for my lord and master than in a palace with any other. I
would die with you were there need. Your wishes shall always be my law."

"That is not the way in Britain," Beric said, as he drew her to him and
kissed her. "The husband is not the lord of his wife, they are friends and
equals, and such will we be. There is honour and respect on both sides."

"It will be but your betrothal at present," Norbanus said. "Neither Beric
nor I would like to see you in the palace of Caesar; but the sponsalia shall
take place today, and then he can claim you when he will. Come again this
evening, Beric. I will have the conditions drawn up, and some friends shall
be here to witness the form of betrothal. This haste, child, is in order to
give Beric power to protect you. Were you free, Rufinus might obtain an order
from Nero for me to give you to him, but once the conditions are signed they
cannot be broken save by your mutual consent; and moreover, Beric can use his
influence with the emperor on behalf of his betrothed wife, while so long as
you remain under my authority he could scarcely interfere did Nero give his
promise to Rufinus."

"Will my mother be here?"

"She will not, nor do I desire her presence," Norbanus said decidedly.
"She has defied my authority and has gone her own path, and it is only for
your sake that I have not divorced her. She comes and she goes as she
chooses, but her home is with her family, not here. She has no right by law
to a voice in your marriage. You are under my authority and mine alone. It is
but right that a good mother should have an influence and a voice as to her
daughter's marriage; but a woman who frequents the saturnalia of Nero has
forfeited her mother's rights. It will be time enough for her to hear of it
when it is too late for her to cause trouble. Now do you two go into the
garden together, for I have arrangements to make."

At six o'clock Beric returned to the house. In the atrium were gathered a
number of guests; some were members of the family of Norbanus, others were
his colleagues in office—all were men of standing and family. Beric was
already known to most of them, having met them at suppers at the house. When
all were assembled Norbanus left the room, and presently returned leading
Aemilia by the hand.

"My friends," he said, "you already know why you are assembled here,
namely to be witnesses to the betrothal of my daughter to Beric the Briton.
Vitrio, the notary, will read the conditions under which they are
betrothed."

The document was a formal one, and stated that Norbanus gave up his
potestas or authority over his daughter Aemilia to Beric, and that he bound
himself to complete the further ceremony of marriage either by the religious
or civil form as Beric might select whenever the latter should demand it, and
that further he agreed to give her on her marriage the sum of three thousand
denarii, and to leave the whole of his property to her at his death; while
Beric on his part bound himself to complete the ceremonies of marriage
whenever called upon by Norbanus to do so, and to pay him at the present time
one thousand denarii on the consideration of his signing the present
agreement, and on his delivering up to him his authority over his
daughter.

"You have heard this document read, Norbanus," the notary said, when he
had concluded the reading. "Do you assent to it? And are you ready to affix
your signature to the contract?"

"I am ready," Norbanus said.

"And you, Beric?"

"I am also ready," Beric replied.

"Then do you both write your signatures here."

Both signed, and four of the guests affixed their signatures as witnesses.
Norbanus then placed Aemilia's hand in Beric's. "You are now betrothed man
and wife," he said. "I transfer to you, Beric, my authority over my daughter;
henceforth she is your property to claim as you will."

A minute later there was a sudden movement at the door, and Lesbia entered
in haste. "News has just been brought to me of your intention, Norbanus, and
I am here to say that I will not permit this betrothal."

"You have no voice or authority in the matter," Norbanus said calmly.
"Legal right to interfere you never had. Your moral right you have forfeited.
The conditions have been signed. Aemilia is betrothed to Beric."

Lesbia broke out into passionate reproaches and threats, but Norbanus
advanced a step or two towards her, and said with quiet dignity, "I have
borne with you for her sake, Lesbia. Now that she belongs to Beric and not to
me, I need not restrain my just indignation longer. I return your property to
your hands."

Lesbia stepped back as if struck. The words were the well known formula by
which a Roman divorced his wife. She had not dreamed that Norbanus would
summon up resolution to put this disgrace upon her, and to bring upon himself
the hostility of her family. Her pride quickly came to her aid.

"Thanks for the release," she said sarcastically; "far too much of my life
has already been wasted on a dotard, and my family will see that the
restitution of my property is full and complete: but beware, Norbanus, I am
not to be outraged with impunity, and you will learn to your cost that a
woman of my family knows how to revenge herself."

Then turning she passed out of the door, entered her lectica and was
carried away.

"I must apologize to you, my friends," Norbanus said calmly, "for having
brought you to be present at an unpleasant family scene, but I had not
expected it, and know not through whom Lesbia obtained the news of what was
doing here. I suppose one of the slaves carried it to her. But these things
trouble not a philosopher; for myself I marvel at my long patience, and feel
rejoiced that at last I shall be free to live my own life."

"You have done well, Norbanus," one of his colleagues said, "though I know
not what Nero will say when he hears of it, for severity among husbands is
not popular at present in Rome."

"I can open my veins as Seneca did," Norbanus said calmly; "neither death
nor exile have any terrors for me. Rome has gone mad, and life for a
reasoning being is worthless here."

"I shall represent the matter to Nero," Beric said, "and as it is seldom
that I ask aught of him, I doubt not he will listen to me. When he is not
personally concerned, Nero desires to act justly, and moreover, I think that
he can weigh the advantages of the friendship of a faithful guard against
that of his boon companions. I will speak to him the first thing in the
morning. He frequently comes into the library and reads for an hour. At any
rate there is no chance of Lesbia being beforehand with me. It is too late
for her to see Rufinus and get him to approach Nero tonight."

"Let us talk of other matters," Norbanus said, "all these things are but
transitory." He then began to talk on his favourite topic—the religions
of the world, while Beric drew Aemilia, who had been weeping since the scene
between her parents, into the tablinum.

"It is unlucky to weep on the day of your betrothal, Aemilia."

"Who could help it, Beric? Besides, as it is not for my own troubles the
omen will have no avail. But it is all so strange and so rapid. This morning
I was in trouble, alarmed at what my mother told me of her intentions,
fearful that my father, who has so long yielded to her, would permit her to
have her own way in this also. Then came the great joy when he told me that
he would give me to you—that you, who of all men I thought most of, was
henceforth to be my lord. Then, just when my happiness was complete, and I
was formally bound to you, came my mother. Ennia and I always loved our
father most, he was ever thoughtful and kind to us, while even as children
our mother did not care for us. As we grew up she cared still less, thinking
only of her own pleasures and friends, and leaving us almost wholly in charge
of the slaves; but it was not until Ennia was seized as a Christian that I
knew how little she loved us. Then she raved and stormed, lamented and wept,
not because of the fate of Ennia, not because of the terrible death that
awaited her, but because of the disgrace it brought upon herself. Even after
she was brought here she scarce came in to see her, and loudly said that it
would be best for her to die. Lately, as you know, I have seen little of her;
she spends all her time abroad, has defied my father's authority; and brought
grief and trouble upon him. Still, to a daughter it is terrible that her
mother should be divorced."

"Let us not think of it now, Aemilia. Your father has acted, as he always
does, rightly and well. I know much more of what is going on than you do, and
I can tell you that Lesbia, who was so jealous of the honour of her name when
Ennia was concerned, is bringing far greater dishonour upon her name by her
own actions. And now let us talk of ourselves. The act you have just done,
dear, may bring all sorts of sacrifices upon you. At any moment I may be a
fugitive, and, as you know, the families of those who incur Nero's wrath
share in their disgrace; and if I am forced to fly, you too may be obliged to
become a fugitive."

She looked up brightly. "I shall not mind any hardships I suffer for your
sake, Beric. Rome is hateful to me since Ennia stood in the arena. I would
rather share a hut with you among the savage mountains of the north than a
palace here."

"I trust that trouble is still far distant, but I shall, as soon as I can,
find a retreat where, in case I fall under Nero's displeasure, you can lie
hid until I can send for you."

"I have such a retreat, Beric. Since Ennia's death I have seen a good deal
of the Christians. Lycoris, you know, was captured at the same time as Ennia,
and was put to death by fire; but her daughter, married to a freedman who had
purchased her liberty from my father, managed to escape with her husband when
the place was surrounded. I have met her several times since. She and her
husband are living hidden in the catacombs, where she tells me many of their
sect have taken refuge from the persecutions.

"The last time I saw her she said to me, 'No one's life is safe in this
terrible city, and none, however high in station, can say that they may not
require refuge. Should you need an asylum, Aemilia, go to the house of a
freedman, one Mincius, living in the third house on the right of a street
known as the Narrow one, close behind the amphitheatre at the foot of the
Palatine Hill, and knock thrice at the door. When they open, say, 'In the
name of Christ,' then they will take you in. Tell them that you desire to see
me, and that you are the sister of Ennia, the daughter of Norbanus, and they
will lead you to us. There is an entrance to the catacombs under the house.
As the sister of Ennia you will be warmly received by all there, even
although you yourself may not belong to us. The galleries and passages are of
a vast extent and known only to us. There is no fear of pursuit there.'"

"That is good news, Aemilia; it is sad that, but an hour betrothed, we are
forced to think of refuges, but it will be happiness to me to know that if
danger threatens, you have a place of retreat. You see this ring; Nero
himself gave it me; mark it well, so that you may know it again. It is a
figure of Mercury carved on an amethyst. When you receive it, by night or
day, tarry not a moment, but wrap yourself in a sombre mantle like that of a
slave, and hie you to this refuge you speak of; but first see your father,
tell him where you are going and why, so that he may fly too, if he
choose."

"He will not do that," Aemilia said, "and how can I leave him?"

"You must leave him because you belong to me, Aemilia, and because you are
acting on my orders. The danger to you is far greater than to him. You are my
wife, he only my father in law, and they would strike at me first through
you. Besides, there are other reasons. Your father is a Roman of the old
type, and like Seneca and Plautus, and others of the same school, will deem
it no loss when the time comes to quit life. However, you will tell him of
the danger, and he must make his own choice. I shall beg him to hand to you
at once the money which I placed in his care now a year ago. Do you hand it
over to the woman you speak of, and ask her to hide it away in the caves till
you ask for it again; these Christians are to be trusted. I have much money
besides, for Nero is lavishly generous, and it would anger him to refuse his
bounty. This money I have placed in several hands, some in Rome, some
elsewhere, so that if forced to fly I can at any rate obtain some of my store
without having to run into danger."

"One more question, Beric. Should I ever have to take refuge among the
Christians, and like Ennia come to love their doctrines, would you be angered
if I joined their sect? If you would I will not listen to them, but will tell
them that I cannot talk or think of these things without my husband's
consent."

"You are free to do as you like, Aemilia. Since Ennia died I have resolved
upon the first opportunity to study the doctrines of these people, for truly
it must be a wonderful religion that enables those who profess it to meet a
cruel death not only without fear but with joy. You know Ennia said we should
meet again, and I think she meant that I, too, should become a Christian. Ask
the woman if I also, as a last resource, may take refuge among them."

"I will ask her, Beric; but I am sure they will gladly receive you. Have
you not already risked your life to save a Christian?"

The other guests having now left, Norbanus joined them, and Beric told him
of the arrangements they had made in case of danger. He warmly approved of
them.

"It will be a relief to me as to you, Beric, to know that Aemilia's safety
is provided for. As for myself, fate has no terrors for me; but for you and
her it is different. She is yours now, for although but betrothed she is
virtually your wife. You have but to take her by the hand and to declare her
your wife in the presence of witnesses, and all is done. There is, it is
true, a religious ceremony in use only among the wealthier classes, but this
is rather an occasion for pomp and feasting, and is by no means needful,
especially as you have no faith in the Roman gods. What are the rites among
your own people, Beric?"

"We simply take a woman by the hand and declare her our wife. Then there
is feasting, and the bride is carried home, and there is the semblance of a
fight, the members of her family making a show of preventing us; but this is
no part of the actual rite, which is merely public assent on both sides. And
now I must be going. Nero will be feasting for a long time yet; but Boduoc
has been on guard for many hours and I must relieve him. Farewell, Norbanus;
we have been preparing for the worst, but I trust we shall escape misfortune.
Farewell, my Aemilia!" and kissing her tenderly Beric strode away to the
palace of Nero.

He had not seen Boduoc since early morning, and the latter, standing on
guard outside the private entrance to Nero's apartments, greeted his arrival,
"Why, Beric, I began to fear that some harm had befallen you. I came in this
morning after the bath and found you had gone out. I returned again at six
and found your chamber again empty, but saw that you had returned during my
absence; I went on guard, and here have I been for four hours listening to
all that foolish singing and laughter inside. How Caesar, who has the world
at his command, can spend his time with actors and buffoons, is more than I
can understand. But what has kept you?"

As there was no fear of his voice being heard through the heavy hangings,
Beric, to Boduoc's intense surprise, related the events of the day.

"So you have married a Roman girl, Beric! Well, I suspected what would
come of it when you spent half your time at the house of Norbanus. I would
rather that you had married one of our own maidens; but as I see no chance of
our return to Britain for years, if ever, one could hardly expect you to wait
for that. At any rate she is the best of the Roman maidens I have seen. She
neither dyes her hair nor paints her face, and although she lacks stature,
she is comely, and is always bright and pleasant when I have accompanied you
there. I am inclined to feel half jealous that you have another to love you
besides myself, but I will try and not grudge her a share of your
affection."

"Well, hand me your sword, Boduoc, and betake yourself to your bed. I will
remain on guard for the next four hours, or until the feasting is over. Nero
often opens the hangings the last thing to see if we are watchful, and he
likes to see me at my post. I wish to find him in a good temper in the
morning."

The next morning, to Beric's satisfaction, Nero came into the library
early. Chiton, as was his custom, retired at once.

"I was inspired last night, Beric," the emperor said. "Listen to these
verses I composed at the table;" and he recited some stanzas in praise of
wine.

"I am no great judge of these matters, Caesar," Beric said; "but they seem
to me to be admirable indeed. How could it be otherwise, when even the Greeks
awarded you the crown for your recitations at their contests? Yesterday was a
fortunate day for me, also, Caesar, for Norbanus betrothed his daughter to
me."

The emperor's face clouded, and Beric hastened to say:

"There is no talk of marriage at present, Caesar, for marriage would
interfere with my duties to you. Therefore it is only when you have no longer
an occasion for my services that the betrothal will be converted into
marriage. My first duty is to you, and I shall allow nothing to interfere
with that."

Nero's face cleared. "That is right," he said graciously. "You might have
married better, seeing that you enjoy my favour; but perhaps it is as well as
it is. Norbanus is a worthy man and a good official, although his ideas are
old fashioned; but it is reported of him that he thinks of nothing but his
work, and mixes himself up in no way in politics, living the life almost of a
recluse. It was one of his daughters you championed in the arena. She died
soon afterwards, I heard. Has he other children?"

"Only the maiden I am betrothed to, Caesar. He is now alone, for his wife
has long been altogether separated from him, being devoted to gaiety and
belonging to a family richer and more powerful than his, and looking down
upon her husband as a mere bookworm. He has borne with her neglect and
disobedience to his wishes for a long time, and has shown, as it seemed to
me, far too great a weakness in exerting his authority; but his patience has
at last failed, and when yesterday, in defiance of him, she would have
interfered to prevent my betrothal to his daughter, he divorced her."

"Divorce is the fashion," Nero said carelessly. "I know his wife Lesbia,
she has frequently been present with members of her family at my
entertainments. She is a fine woman, and I wonder not that she and the
recluse her husband did not get on well together. She will soon be
consoled."

"I have mentioned it to you, Caesar, because she is a revengeful woman,
and might cause rumours unfavourable to her husband to be reported to you. He
is the most simple and single minded of men, and his thoughts are entirely
occupied, as you say, with the duties of his office and with the learned book
upon which he has long been engaged; but although a philosopher in his habits
he holds aloof from all parties, and even in his own family never discusses
public affairs. Had it been otherwise, you may be sure that I, your majesty's
attendant and guard, should have abstained from visiting his house."

"I know this to be the case, Beric. Naturally, when I first placed you
near my person, I was interested in knowing who were your intimates, and
caused strict inquiries to be made as to the household of Norbanus and his
associates; all that I heard was favourable to him, and convinced me that he
was in no way a dangerous person."

Nero left the room, and returned shortly bearing a casket. "Give these
jewels to your betrothed, Beric, as a present from Caesar to the wife of his
faithful guard."

Beric thanked the emperor in becoming terms, and in the afternoon carried
the jewels, which were of great value, to Aemilia.

"They are a fortune in themselves," he said; "in case of danger, take them
from the casket and conceal them in your garments. No one could have been
more cordial than Nero was this morning; but he is fickle as the wind, and
when Rufinus and others of his boon companions obtain his ear his mood may
change altogether."

XVIII. — THE OUTBREAK

IT was not long, indeed, before Beric found that hostile
influences were
at work. Nero was not less friendly in his manner, but he more than once
spoke to him about Aemilia.

"I hear," he said one day, "that your betrothed is very beautiful
Beric."

"She is very fair, Caesar," Beric replied coldly.

"I know not how it is that I have not seen her at court," Nero
continued.

"Her tastes are like those of her father," Beric said. "She goes but
seldom abroad, and has long had the principal care of her father's
household."

"But you should bring her now," Nero persisted. "The wife of one of the
officials of the palace should have a place at our entertainments."

"She is not at present my wife, Caesar, she is but my betrothed; and as
you have yourself excused me from attendance at all entertainments, it would
be unseemly for her, a Roman maiden, though betrothed to me, to appear
there."

"There are plenty of other Roman maidens who appear there," Nero said
pettishly. Beric made no reply, and the subject was not again alluded to at
that time; but the emperor returned to it on other occasions, and Beric at
last was driven to refuse point blank.

"I am your majesty's guard," he said. "I watch you at night as well as by
day, and, as I have told your majesty, I cannot perform my duties properly if
I have to be present at your entertainments. I should not permit my wife or
my betrothed to be present in public unless I were by her side. Your majesty
took me for what I was, a simple Briton, who could be relied upon as a guard,
because I had neither friends nor family in Rome, and was content to live a
simple and quiet life. I am willing to abstain from marriage in order that I
may still do my service as heretofore; but if I have to attend
entertainments, you cannot rely upon my constant vigilance. It is for you to
choose, Caesar, whether you most require vigilant guards, who could be
trusted as standing aloof from all, or the addition of two persons to the
crowds you entertain. I am sure, Caesar," he went on as the emperor made no
reply, "it is not yourself who is now speaking to me; it is Rufinus, formerly
a suitor for the hand of the daughter of Norbanus, who has been whispering
into your ear and abusing the favour you show him. He dare not show his
animosity to me openly, for one who has conquered a lion would make but short
work of him. Your majesty, I pray you, let not the word of men like this come
between yourself and one you know to be faithful to you."

"You are right, Beric," Nero said. "I will press you no farther; it was
but a passing thought. I had heard of the beauty of your betrothed, and
though I would see if she were as fair as report makes her; but since you do
not wish it to be so, it shall not be spoken of again."

But Beric knew enough of Nero to be aware that, like most weak men, he was
obstinate, and that Rufinus and his friends would not allow the matter to
drop. Every preparation was therefore made for sudden flight. Aemilia was
warned on no account to trust any message she might receive purporting to be
from him, and the Britons in the palace, who were heartily sick of their
monotonous duty, were told to hold themselves in readiness for action. Beric
knew that he could depend on the slave who had been assigned to him as an
attendant. He was not the man who had at first served him, and who, as Beric
doubted not, had acted as a spy upon him. When it was found that there was
nothing to discover this man had been removed for other work, and a slave boy
of some seventeen years old had taken his place. To him Beric had behaved
with great kindness, and the lad was deeply attached to him. He had several
times taken notes and messages to the house of Norbanus, and Beric told
Aemilia that when it became necessary to send her the ring, he should
probably intrust it to him.

A week later Boduoc was on guard at ten in the evening. In the distant
banqueting hall he could hear sounds of laughter and revelry, and knowing the
nature of these feasts he muttered angrily to himself that he, a Briton,
should be standing there while such things were being done within. Suddenly
he heard a step approaching the hangings. They were drawn back, and one of
the court attendants said, "Caesar requires the attendance of Beric the
Briton in the banqueting hall."

"I will tell him," Boduoc said. "He will come directly." Beric was sitting
reading when Boduoc entered and gave the message.

"This means mischief, Boduoc," he said. "I have never been sent for before
to one of these foul carousals. Philo, come hither!"

The lad, who was lying on a mat by the door, rose. "Philo, take this ring.
Follow me to the door of the banqueting room, and stand behind the hangings.
If I say 'Run, Philo!' carry out the orders that I have before given you.
Speed first to the room where the Britons sleep, and tell them to arm and
come up by the private stairs to my room instantly. They know the way. They
are then to pass on through the passage and the next room and wait behind the
hangings, when Boduoc will give them orders. Directly you have given my
message speed to the house of Norbanus, and demand in my name to see the lady
Aemilia. If she has retired to her room she must be roused. If the slaves
make difficulty, appeal to Norbanus himself. He will fetch her down to you.
Give her this ring, and say the time has come."

"I will do it, my lord. Where am I to join you afterwards?"

"I shall take the road to the Alban Hills first; I think that if you are
speedy, you may be on the Alban road before me. Now follow me. Boduoc, do you
come as far as the hangings of the banqueting room, and stand there with
Philo. You will be able to hear what passes within. Do not enter unless I
call you. Bring my sword with you."

Beric passed through two or three large apartments and then entered the
banqueting room. It was ablaze with lights. A dozen men and as many women, in
the scantiest costumes, lay on couches along each side of the table. All were
crowned with chaplets of flowers, and were half covered with roses, of which
showers had fallen from above upon them. Nero lay on a couch at the end of
the table; his features were flushed with wine. Beric repressed the
exclamation of indignant disgust that rose to his lips, and walking calmly up
to Nero said coldly, "I am told that you want me, Caesar."

"I do, my fighter of lions," Nero said unsteadily. "I would see this
paragon of whom Rufinus tells me, whom you guard so jealously from my eyes.
Send and fetch her hither. She will be a worthy queen of our revels."

"It is an honour to me to obey your majesty's commands in all matters that
regard myself," Beric said; "but in regard to my promised wife, no! This is
no place for a Roman lady; and even at the risk of your displeasure, Caesar,
I refuse to dishonour her by bringing her into such an assembly."

"I told you he would refuse, Caesar," Rufinus, who was lying on the couch
next to Nero, laughed.

Nero was speechless with surprise and anger at Beric's calm refusal to
obey his orders. "Do I understand," he said at last, "that you refuse to obey
me?"

"I do, Caesar. It is not a lawful command, and I distinctly refuse to obey
it."

"Then, by the gods, your life is forfeit!" Nero said, rising to his
feet.

"You may thank your gods, Caesar, that I have more sense of honour than
you. Were it otherwise, I would strike you dead at my feet. But a British
chief disdains to fight an unarmed foe, and I who have eaten your bread and
taken your wages am doubly bound not to lift my hand against you." Then he
lifted his voice and cried, "Run, Philo!"

The revellers by this time had all started to their feet. Nero, shrinking
backwards behind them, called loudly for help. Rufinus, who had shown bravery
in the wars, drew a dagger from beneath his toga and sprang at Beric. The
latter caught his uplifted wrist, and with a sharp wrench forced him to drop
the weapon; then he seized him in his grasp. "You shall do no more mischief,
Rufinus," he said, and raising him in his arms hurled him with tremendous
force against a marble pillar, where he fell inert and lifeless, his skull
being completely beaten in by the blow.

The hall rang with the shrieks of women and the shouts of men. There was a
sound of heavy footsteps, and eight of the Praetorian guards, with drawn
swords, ran in on the other side of the chamber. "Boduoc!" Beric shouted; and
in a moment his follower stood beside him and handed him his sword and
buckler.

Beric and Boduoc stepped back to the door by which they had entered, and
awaited the onset of the Praetorians. For a moment these hesitated, for
Beric's figure was well known in the palace, and not one of them but had
heard of his encounter with the lion. The emperor's shouts, however, overcame
their reluctance, and shoulder to shoulder they rushed forward to the attack.
Two fell instantly, helmet and head cloven by the swords of the Britons, who
at once took the offensive and drove the others before them, slaying three
more and putting the others to flight. But the success was temporary, for now
a great body of the guard poured into the room.

"Step back through the doorway, Boduoc," Beric said; "their numbers will
not avail them then."

The doors were ten feet in width. This gave room to but three men to enter
at once and use their arms to advantage, and for two or three minutes the
Britons kept the Praetorians at bay, eight of them having fallen beneath
their blows; then there was a shout, and the Roman soldiers came running in
at a door at the end of the chamber. "Fall back to the next door," Beric
said; but as he spoke there was a rush behind, and nineteen Britons ran into
the room, and uttering the war cry of the Iceni flung themselves upon the
Roman soldiers. These, taken by surprise at the sudden appearance of these
tall warriors, and ignorant of what further reinforcements might be coming
up, gave ground, and were speedily beaten back, a score of them falling
beneath the Britons' swords.

"Now retreat!" Beric cried as the room was cleared; "retreat at full
speed. Show them the way, Boduoc, by the staircase down into the garden.
Quick! there is not a moment to lose. I will guard the rear."

They ran down the passage, through Beric's room, down a long corridor, and
then by stairs leading thence into the garden, which was indeed a park of
considerable size, with lakes, shrubberies, and winding walks. The uproar in
the palace was no longer heard by the time they were halfway across the park;
but they ran at full speed until they reached a door in the wall. Of this
Beric had some time before obtained a key from the head gardener, and always
carried this about with him. As they stopped they looked back towards the
palace. Distant shouts could be heard, and the lights of numbers of torches
could be seen spreading out in all directions.

Beric opened the door and locked it behind him when all had passed out.
"Now," he said to his companions, "make your way down to the road leading out
to the Alban Hills. Break up and go singly, so that you may not be noticed.
It will be a good half hour before the news of what has occurred is known
beyond the palace. Do not pass through the frequented streets, but move along
the dark lanes as much as possible. When half a mile beyond the city we will
reunite."

An hour later the whole party were gathered beyond the city. All were
delighted to escape from what they considered slavery, and the fact that they
had again bucklers on their arms and swords by their sides made them feel as
if their freedom were already obtained.

"This puts one in mind of old times," Boduoc said joyously; "one might
think we were about to start on an expedition in the fens. Well, they have
taught us all somewhat more than we knew before, and we will show them that
the air of Rome has robbed us of none of our strength. Where go we now,
Beric?"

"First to the ludus of Scopus; I learned a week since that he had taken
his band out again to the Alban Hills for the hot season. I believe that most
of his men will join us, if not all. As soon as the news is spread that we
are in arms we could, if we wished it, be joined by scores of gladiators from
the other schools. There are hundreds who would, if the standard of revolt
were raised, prefer dying fighting in the open to being slain to gratify a
Roman mob."

"Ay, that there are," put in another of the band. "I have never ceased to
lament that I did not fall that day on our island in the fens."

"Think you there will be pursuit, Beric?" another asked.

"No; the first thought of Nero will be to assemble all the Praetorians for
his protection; they will search the palace and the park, expecting attack
rather than thinking of pursuit. In the morning, when they find that all is
quiet, and that it is indeed only us with whom there is trouble, they will
doubtless send parties of searchers over the country; but long before that we
shall be a day's march ahead. My wish is to gain the mountains. I do not want
to head a great rebellion against Rome—disaster would surely come of it
at last, and I should have only led men to their death. A hundred men is the
outside number I will take. With that number we may live as outlaws among the
mountains to the south; we could move so rapidly that large forces could not
follow us, and be strong enough to repulse small ones. There is plenty of
game among the hills, and we should live as we did at home, chiefly by
hunting."

Just as they were approaching the hills a quick step was heard behind
them, and the lad Philo ran up.

"Ah, you have overtaken us, Philo! 'tis well, lad, for your life would
have been forfeited had you stayed in Rome.

"Well," he asked, drawing him aside, "you saw the lady Aemilia. What said
she?"

"She said, 'Tell my lord that I obey, but that I pray him to let me join
him and share his dangers if it be possible; but be it tomorrow or five years
hence, he will find me waiting for him at the place he knows of.' Norbanus
was present when she spoke. I told him what I had heard in the banqueting
room, and he said 'Beric has done rightly. Tell him that he has acted as a
Roman should do, but as Romans no longer act, caring less for their honour
than do the meanest slaves, and that I thank him for having thus defended my
daughter against indignity.' He was glad, he said, that his life would end
now, for it was a burden to him under such conditions. He gave me this bag of
gold to bring to you, saying that he should have no farther need for it, and
that, leaving in such haste, you would not have time to furnish yourself with
money. It is heavy," the boy said. "I should have caught you some time
earlier, but twenty or more pounds' weight makes a deal of difference in a
long run."

On arriving at the house of Scopus Beric bade the others wait without, and
stepping over the slaves lying at the entrance, he went quietly to the
sleeping chamber of the lanista.

"Who is this?" Scopus asked as he entered.

"It is I, Beric; throw your mantle on and come outside with me, Scopus. I
would speak with you alone, and do not wish that all should know that I have
been here."

"In trouble?" Scopus asked as they left the house. "Ay, lad, I expected
it, and knew that sooner or later it would come. What is it?"

"Nero ordered me to fetch Aemilia to his foul carousal. I refused.
Rufinus, at whose instigation he acted, attacked me. I hurled him against a
pillar, and methinks he was killed, and then Nero, in alarm for his life,
called in the Praetorians. Boduoc and my countrymen joined me, and we slew
some thirty of them, and then made our escape, and are taking to the
mountains."

"And you have come to ask my gladiators to join?" Scopus said shortly.

"No," Beric replied; "when I started I thought of so doing, but as I
walked hither I decided otherwise. It would not be fair to you. Did I ask
them some would join, I know, others might not. The loss of their services I
could make up to you; but if it were known that we had been here, and that
some of your band had joined me, Nero's vengeance would fall on you all."

"I thank you, Beric; if some went I must go myself, for I dare not remain,
and though I wish you well, and hate the tyrant, I am well off and
comfortable, and have no desire to throw away my life."

"There is one I should like to take with me—Porus; we were good
friends when I was here, and I know that he hates this life and longs to be
free from it. He would have run away and joined the gladiators when they rose
at Praeneste had I not dissuaded him. He could leave without the others
knowing it, and in the morning you might affect a belief that he has run
away, and give notice to the magistrate here and have him sought for. In that
way there would be no suspicion of his having joined us. I know that he is
valuable to you, being, I think, the best of your troop, but I will pay you
whatever price you place his services at."

"No, no," Scopus said, "I will give him to you, Beric, for the sake of our
friendship, and for your consideration for me in not taking the rest with
you. I have done well by you and him. Stay here and I will fetch him out to
you; it may be that many will desert both from me and the other lanistae when
they hear that you have taken to the mountains, but for that I cannot be
blamed. You have come far out of your way to come hither."

"Yes, 'tis a long detour, but it will matter little. We shall skirt round
the foot of the hills, cross the Lyris below Praeneste, and then make
straight to the mountains. They will not search for us in that direction, and
we will take shelter in a wood when day breaks, and gain the mountains
tomorrow night. Once there we shall be safe, and shall move farther south to
the wild hills between Apulia and Campania, or if it is too hot for us there,
down into Bruttium, whence we can, if it be needed, cross into Sicily. I am
not thinking of making war with Rome. We intend to live and die as free men,
and methinks that in the mountains we may laugh at the whole strength of
Rome."

"You will find plenty of others in the same condition there, Beric;
escaped slaves and gladiators constantly make for the hills, and there have
been many expeditions against the bands there, who are often strong enough to
be a danger to the towns near the foot of the mountains."

"We are not going to turn brigands," Beric said; "there is game on the
hills, and we are all hunters, and I have money enough to pay for all else we
require did we live there for years. But fetch me Porus. We must be far from
here by daylight."

Porus soon came out, much surprised at being suddenly roused from sleep,
and silently brought out of the house by Scopus. As soon as Beric explained
to him what had happened, he joyfully agreed to join him, and stole in and
fetched his arms. Then with a hearty adieu to Scopus Beric placed himself at
the head of his band and struck off by the road to Praeneste. Walking fast
they arrived at the bank of the Lyris before daybreak, crossed the river in a
fisherman's boat they found on the bank, and just as daylight showed in the
sky entered an extensive grove, having walked over forty miles since leaving
Rome. They slept during the day, taking it by turns to watch at the edge of
the wood, and when it was again dark started afresh, and were, when morning
broke, high up on the slopes of the Apennines.

"I feel a free man again now," Boduoc said. "It does not seem to me that I
have drawn a breath of fresh air since I entered Rome; but fresh air, good as
it is, Beric, is not altogether satisfying, and I begin to feel that I have
eaten nothing since I supped the day before yesterday."

"We will push on for another hour," Beric said, "and then we shall be
fairly beyond the range of cultivation. At the last house we come to we will
go in and purchase food. Flour is the principal thing we need; we shall have
no difficulty in getting goats from the herdsmen who pasture their animals
among the hills."

An hour later Beric, with Boduoc and two of his followers, went up to a
farm house. The farmer and his servants ran into the house, raising cries of
alarm at the sight of the four tall armed figures.

"Do not fear," Beric said when he reached the door, "we are not brigands,
but honest men, who desire to pay for what we need."

Somewhat reassured, the farmer came out. "What does my lord require?" he
asked, impressed by a nearer view of Beric's dress and arms.

"How much flour have you in the house?" Beric asked, "and what is the
price of it?"

The farmer had three sacks of flour. "I will take them all," Beric said,
"and three skins of wine if you have them. I would also buy two sheep if you
name me a fair price for the whole."

The farmer named a price not much above that which he would have obtained
in the market, and Beric also bought of him a number of small bags capable of
containing some fifteen or twenty pounds of flour each. Then one of the men
fetched up the rest of the band; the flour was divided and packed in the
small bags; the sheep were killed and cut up; three of the men lifted the
wine skins on to their shoulders; the rest took the flour and meat, and they
marched away, leaving the farmer and his family astounded at the appearance
of these strange men with fair hair and blue eyes, and of stature that
appeared to them gigantic.

Still ascending the mountain the band halted in a forest. Wood was soon
collected and a fire lighted. The contents of one of the bags was made into
dough at a stream hard by, divided into cakes and placed on red hot ashes,
while the meat was cut up and hung over the fire.

After a hearty meal they lay down for some hours to sleep, and then
resumed their march. They were getting well into the heart of the mountains
when a figure suddenly appeared on a crag above them.

"Who are you?" he shouted, "and what do you here in the mountains?"

"We are fugitives from the tyranny of Rome," Beric replied. "We mean harm
to no man, but those who would meddle with us are likely to regret it."

"You swear that you are fugitives," the man called back.

"I swear," Beric said, holding up his hand.

The man turned round and spoke to someone behind him, and a moment later a
party of fifteen men appeared on the crag and began to descend into the
ravine up which Beric's band were making their way.

"It is the Britons," the leader exclaimed as he neared them. "Why, Beric,
is it you, tired already of the dignities of Rome? How fares it with you,
Boduoc?"

Beric recognized at once a Gaul, one of the gladiators of Scopus, who had
some months before fled from the ludus. In a minute the two bands met. Most
of the newcomers were Gauls, and, like their leader, escaped gladiators, and
as Beric's name was well known to all they saluted him with acclamations.
Both parties were pleased at the meeting, for, akin by race and speaking
dialects of the same language, they regarded each other as natural
allies.

"The life of an outlaw will be a change to you after Nero's palace,
Beric," Gatho, their leader, said.

"A pleasant change," Beric replied. "I have no taste for gilded chains.
How do you fare here, Gatho?"

"There are plenty of wild boars among the mountains, and we can always get
a goat when they are lacking. There are plenty of them wild all over the
hills, escaped captives like ourselves. As for wine and flour, we have
occasionally to make a raid on the villages."

"I do not propose to do that," Beric said; "I have money to buy what we
require; and if we set the villagers against us, sooner or later they will
lead the troops after us up the mountains."

"I would gladly do that too, but the means are lacking. We owe the
peasants no ill will, but one must live, you know."

"Have you any place you make your headquarters?"

"An hour's march from hence; I will lead you to it."

The united bands continued to climb the hills, and on emerging from the
ravine Gatho led them for some distance along the upper edge of a forest, and
then turned up a narrow gorge in the hillside with a little rivulet running
down it. The ravine widened out as they went up it, till they reached a spot
where it formed a circular area of some hundred and fifty feet in diameter,
surrounded on all sides by perpendicular rocks, with a tiny cascade a hundred
feet in height falling into it at the farther end. Some rough huts of boughs
of trees were erected near the centre.

"A good hiding place," Beric said, "but I see no mode of retreat, and if a
peasant were to lead a party of Romans to the entrance you would be caught in
a trap."

"We have only been here ten days," Gatho said, "and never stop long in one
place; but it has the disadvantage you speak of. However, we have always one
or two men posted lower down, at points where they can see any bodies of men
ascending the hills. They brought us notice of your coming when you were far
below, so you see we are not likely to be taken by surprise, and the Roman
soldiers are not fond of night marches among the mountains."

As it was some hours since the Britons had partaken of their meal they
were quite ready to join the Gauls in another, and the carcass of a wild boar
hanging up near the huts was soon cut up and roasting over a fire, the
Britons contributing wine and flour to the meal. After it was over there was
a long talk, and after consulting together Gatho and his band unanimously
agreed in asking Beric to take command of the whole party.

"We all know you, Beric," Gatho said. "None could like you have fought a
lion barehanded, and I know that there was no one in the ludus who was your
match with the sword, while Boduoc and the other five were infinitely
superior to any of us in strength. Besides, you are well versed in Roman
ways, and have led an army against them, therefore we all are ready to accept
you as our leader and to obey your orders if you will take us."

"I will do so willingly, Gatho. I do not wish to have more than fifty men
with me, for it would be difficult to find subsistence for a larger number. A
hundred is the outside number, and doubtless we shall be able to gather other
recruits should we choose to raise the band to that number; but all who
follow me must obey me as implicitly as did my own tribesmen in our struggle
with the Romans, and must swear to do no harm to innocent people, and to
abstain from all violence and robbery. I am ready to be a leader of outlaws
but not of brigands. I desire only to live a free life among the mountains.
If the Romans come against us we will fight against them, and the spoil we
may take from them is lawful booty, to be used in exchange for such things as
we may require. But with the peasants we will make friends, and if we treat
them well they will bring us news of any expeditions that may be on foot for
our capture. As I said I have money enough to buy everything we want at
present, and can obtain more if necessary, so that there is no reason for us
to rob these poor people of their goods. Here we are too near Rome for them
to be disaffected, but further south we shall find them not unwilling to aid
us, for the provinces are ground into the dust by the exactions necessary to
pay for the cost of the rebuilding of Rome and to support the extravagance of
Nero."

The Gauls cheerfully took the required oath.

"You, Gatho, will continue to act as my lieutenant with your Gauls, Boduoc
commands the Britons under me. It may be necessary at times for the band to
divide, as when game is scarce we may find a difficulty in keeping together,
especially if we recruit our band up to a hundred. I am determined to have no
malefactors who have fled from justice nor riotous men among us. I should
prefer that they should be chiefly your countrymen, but we will not refuse
gladiators of other nations who have been captured as prisoners of war. We
want no escaped slaves among us. A man who has once been a slave might try to
buy his pardon and freedom by betraying us. We will be free men all, asking
only to live in freedom among the mountains, injuring none, but determined to
fight and die in defence of that freedom."

These sentiments were warmly welcomed by the Gauls. The next day the
number of men on the lookout was increased, and the band, breaking up into
small parties, scattered among the mountains in pursuit of wild boars and
goats. Some were to return, successful or not, at night to the encampment,
and on the following day to take the place of those on watch, and relays were
provided so that during the week each would take a turn at that duty.

Never did men enjoy a week's hunting with greater zest than the Britons.
To them life seemed to begin anew, and although the skies were bluer and the
mountains higher and rougher than those of Britain, it seemed to them that
they were once again enjoying their native air, and of an evening rude chants
of Gaul and Britain echoed among the rocks.

Porus, the Syrian, stood somewhat apart from the rest, not understanding
the tongue of the others, and he therefore became naturally the special
companion of Beric; for having been six years in Rome he spoke Latin
fluently.

"It is I who must go down to get you news, Beric," he said one day. "You
Britons could not disguise yourselves, for even if you stained your cheeks
and dyed your hair your blue eyes and your height would betray you at once.
The Gauls, too, though shorter than you, are still much taller and broader
men than the Romans, and there are none of them who speak the language well
enough to ask a question without their foreign tongue being detected. I am
about the height of the Romans, and am swarthier than the Gauls, and could,
if I borrowed the dress of one of the goatherds, pass among them without
notice. It would certainly be well, as you were saying, to know what is being
done below, and whether there is any idea of sending troops up into the
mountains to search for us.

"You may be sure that after the scare you gave Nero, and the defeat of his
guards, the matter will not be allowed to drop, and that they will search all
Italy for you. I should think that, at first, they will seek for you in the
north, thinking that you would be likely, after taking to the
hills—which you would be sure to do, for such a party could never hope
to traverse the plains unnoticed—to keep along the chain to the north,
cross the Cisalpine plains, and try the passage of the great mountains."

"At any rate it will be well, Porus, to know what they are doing. If they
are at present confining their search to the northern range we can stay where
we are with confidence. I should be sorry to move, for we are well placed
here; there is good water and game is abundant. We certainly shall soon lack
wine, but for everything else we can manage. We have meat in abundance, and
have flour to last for some time, for both we and the Gauls eat but little
bread; besides, if pushed, we can do as the peasants do, pound up acorns and
beechnuts and make a sort of bread of them."

"Very well, Beric, I will go down tomorrow."

Early in the morning, however, two of the men on sentry came in and said
that they observed the glitter of the sun on spearhead and armour far down
the hillside.

"If they are after us," Beric said, "as I expect they are, they have
doubtless learned that we are somewhere in this part of the mountains from
the man of whom we bought the wine and flour. I don't suppose he intended to
do us harm, but when he went down to purchase fresh supplies he may well have
mentioned that a party of strong men of unusual height, and with fair hair,
had bought up his stock, paying for it honestly, which would perhaps surprise
him more than anything. If the news had come to the ears of any of the
officials, they, knowing the hue and cry which was being made for us, would
have sent word at once to Praeneste or Rome. We must at once recall those who
are away. Philo, take a couple of brands and go and light the signal
fire."

A pile of dry wood had been placed in readiness upon a projecting rock a
mile away and standing in position where it was visible from a considerable
extent of the hillside. It had been settled that the parties of hunters who
did not return at nightfall should occasionally send one of their number to a
point whence he could get a view of the beacon.

"Directly the pile is well alight, Philo, pluck up green bushes and tufts
of grass and throw upon it, so as to make as much smoke as possible."

There were eighteen men in the encampment, and four out on guard. Boduoc
and Gatho were both away, and as soon as Philo had started with the brands
Beric and Porus set out with the two scouts.

"That was where we saw them," one of them said, pointing far down the
hillside, "but by this time they will no doubt have entered the wooded
belt."

"We must find out something about their numbers," Beric said. "Not that I
wish to fight; for were we to inflict losses upon them they would more than
ever make efforts to overtake us. Still, it will be as well to know what
force they may think sufficient to capture us."

"I will go down through the forest," Porus said, "doubtless they will have
some light armed troops with the spearmen; but they must be fleet indeed if
they overtake me after all my training."

"Do not let them see you if you can help it, Porus, or they will follow
close behind you, although they might not overtake you, and that might bring
on a fight."

"I will be careful;" and leaving his buckler behind him, Porus started on
his way down the mountain.

In an hour and a half he returned. "I have had a good view of them," he
said; "they have halted at the place where we got the flour. There are a
hundred heavy armed troops and a hundred archers and slingers."

"They have come in strength," Beric said; "it shows that they do not hold
the Britons cheaply. We will return at once to the camp. By this time the
hunters should be back."

Sending one of the men to call in the other sentries, they returned to the
huts. Boduoc, with a party of ten men, had already come in, and said that
they had seen Gatho's party making their way down from a point high up in the
mountains.

"We will pause no longer," Beric said, "we shall meet them as they
descend; take the flour and what little wine remains, and let us be going.
Scatter the fire and extinguish the brands; unless they have found some
goatherd who has marked us coming and going, they may not find this place. I
hope they will not do so, as it would encourage them by the thought that they
had nearly captured us."

The party had ascended the mountain half a mile when they met Gatho
returning.

"I like not to retreat without fighting," he said, when he had heard from
Beric of the coming of the Romans and their force; "but I agree with you that
it is better not to anger them farther."

"I want three of the fleetest footed of your men, Gatho, to stay behind
with Porus and watch them, themselves unseen. We will cross over the crest of
the hills to the eastern side, Porus. Do you mark that tall craig near the
summit; you will find one of us there, and he will lead you to our camping
place. I want to know whether the Romans, after spending the day searching
the hills, go back through the forest, or whether they encamp here. In the
one case we can return, in the other it will be better to move south at once.
We could laugh at their heavy armed spearmen, but their archers and slingers
carry no more weight than we do, and would harass us sorely with their
missiles, which we have no means of returning."

As soon as the men to remain with Porus were chosen, the rest of the band
proceeded on their way.

XIX. — OUTLAWS

IT was late at night before Porus with the three Gauls
joined the rest of
the band in their new encampment on the eastern slope of the hills.

"As soon as the moon rises, Beric, we must be up and moving. The Romans
are in earnest. When they came through the forest they ascended for some
little distance, and then the spearmen halted and the light armed troops
scattered in parties of four searching the country like dogs after game. They
were not very long before they discovered signs of us, whether footmarks or
broken twigs I know not, but following them they soon came upon the entrance
of the ravine. No doubt our marks were plain enough there, for the spearmen
were brought down. What happened then I know not; no doubt they entered and
found that we had gone. At any rate, in a short time they set out briskly up
the mountain, the spearmen as before keeping together, and the light armed
men scattering.

"All day they searched, and it was well that you crossed the crest. They
halted for the night halfway between the forest and the summit, and I
determined to learn something of their intentions. So after it was dark I
laid aside my arms and crawled into the camp. The ground was broken and
rough, and there was no great difficulty in getting close to their fires. I
learned that the whole of the legion at Praeneste had been sent into the
mountains, and that there were twenty parties of equal force; they were but a
mile and a half apart, and considered that they could search every foot of
the ground for thirty miles along, and would assuredly discover us if we were
still in this part. More than that, troops from Corfinium and Marrubium had
started to search the eastern slopes, and between them they made sure that
they should catch you, now that they had found, by the heat of the earth
where our fire had been, that we must have been there but an hour or so
before their arrival."

"If that is the case we must make our way to the south at once," Beric
said. "It is well indeed that we decided to retreat without fighting, for had
we retired, closely pursued by their archers, their shouts would certainly
have been heard by some of the other parties. It is fortunate we did not
light a fire; had we done so it might have brought some of the troops from
Marrubium, which cannot be far distant from here, upon us. The moon will not
be up for three hours yet, and it is useless to try to make our way among
these mountains until we have her light, therefore let all lie down to sleep;
I will keep guard and will rouse you when it is time to move."

Beric sat listening intently for any sound that would tell of the approach
of foemen. He had, however, but small fear that the Romans were moving at
present. It would be even more difficult for them than for his men to make
their way about in the darkness; besides, the day must have been an extremely
fatiguing one for them. They had, doubtless, started long before dawn, had
had to climb the mountains, and had been all day on their feet. They would
scarcely recommence the search before morning. Easy on this score, his
thoughts turned to Rome. That Aemilia had gained the shelter of the Catacombs
he had no doubt, and he wondered how she fared there among the Christian
fugitives. As to Norbanus he had but slight hopes of ever seeing him alive.
Nero's vengeance always extended to the families of those who offended him,
and Norbanus would certainly be held responsible for the flight of Aemilia.
He thought it indeed probable that as soon as Aemilia left, Norbanus would
have called his friends together, and, having opened his veins, would die as
Piso had done discussing philosophy with them.

As soon as the moon was fairly up he aroused his companions and they
started along the hillside. It was difficult work making their way on, now
descending into a deep ravine, now climbing a rugged slope, now passing along
a bare shoulder. There was no pause until day broke, when they descended into
a gorge and lay down among some clumps of bushes, one man being sent half a
mile down while two others were posted on each side of the ravine. They had
good reason for hope, however, that they had got beyond the point to which
the searching parties would extend on the eastern side of the hill. The day
passed without alarms, although the sentries above more than once heard the
sounds of distant trumpets. As soon as the sun set they continued their way,
halting again until the moon rose, and then keeping south until daybreak.

They were sure now that they were far beyond the parties of Romans, but
after a few hours' sleep they again pressed on, and at night lighted their
fires and prepared for a longer stay. But the orders of Nero were so
imperative that the troops, having thoroughly searched the mountains at the
point where they had ascended them, united, and also moved south in a long
line extending from the summit of the hills to the lower edge of the forest;
and after two days' halt the fugitives again moved south, and continued their
journey until they found themselves among the wild and lofty hills of
Bruttium.

But their numbers had swollen as they went, for the other fugitive bands
among the hills were also driven south by the advance of the Romans, and it
was a miscellaneous body of gladiators, escaped slaves, and malefactors, in
all over five hundred strong, that crossed the mountains into Bruttium. There
was a general wish among them that Beric should take the command of the
whole. This, however, he absolutely declined to do, upon the ground that it
was impossible for so large a body of men to keep together, as there would be
no means of feeding them. Scattered about they would find an ample supply of
meat from the wild goats, boars and semi-wild swine, but together, they would
soon scare away the game. From among the gladiators, however, he picked out
sufficient men to raise his own force to a hundred strong, and separating
from the rest he led them, guided by a charcoal burner, to one of the wildest
and most inaccessible points in the promontory.

Here they were safe from pursuit. Bruttium, now called Calabria, is a
chain of rugged hills, at that time thickly covered with wood, and although
it was possible fairly to search the Apennines in the centre of Italy with
six or seven thousand men, a large army would fail to find a band of
fugitives in the recesses of the mountains of the south. On the evening of
their arrival at the spot they determined to make their headquarters, Beric
held a sort of council of war, the whole of the band, as was the custom both
in Gaul and Britain, joining in the deliberations.

"So far," Beric began, "we have retreated without fighting; Rome cannot
complain that we have been in insurrection against her, we have simply acted
as fugitives; but as there is nowhere else whither we can retire, we must
turn upon them if they again pursue us. We must then regard this as our abode
for a long time, and make ourselves as comfortable as we can. Huts we can
erect of the branches of trees, the skins of the goats we kill will provide
us with bedding, and if needs be with clothing. Meat will not fail us, for
should game become scarce we can buy goats and sheep from the shepherds who
come up with their flocks and herds from the villages by the sea. But besides
this we need many things for comfort. We must have utensils for cooking, and
drinking cups, and shall need flour and wine; we must therefore open
communications with one of the towns by the sea. This is the great
difficulty, because of all things I fear treachery; for nigh a year we fought
the Romans at home, and could have fought them for twenty more had we not
been betrayed and surrounded.

"Of that there will always be a danger. I have gold, and shall always pay
for what we require; but the other bands among these hills will not be so
scrupulous, and as, indeed, they will be forced to take food, they will set
the inhabitants against us, and the Romans will have no difficulty in finding
guides among them. So long as we keep ourselves far apart from the rest we
are comparatively safe; but none of the natives must know of our hiding
place. Can anyone propose a good plan for obtaining supplies?"

There was silence for some time. These men were all good for fighting, but
few of them had heads to plan. At last Porus said:

"We are, as our guide tells me, but two hours' journey from the hills
whence we may look down upon the gulf dividing Bruttium from Sicily. The
lower slopes of these hills are, he says, closely cultivated. There are many
small villages some distance up on their sides, and solitary farms well nigh
up to the crest. It seems to me that we should use one of these farmers as
our agent. He must be a man with a wife and family, and these would be
hostages. If we told him that if he did our bidding he would be well
rewarded, while if unfaithful we would destroy his farmhouse and slay his
wife and children, I think we might trust him. Two or three of us could go
down with him to the town on the seashore, dressed as men working under him,
and help bring up the goods he purchases. The quantity might excite suspicion
did he always go to the same place for them, but he need not always do this.
If we found it impossible to get enough by means of one man, we might carry
out this plan with three or four of them. None of these men need know the
direction of our camp; it would suffice that the wine and flour were brought
to their houses. We could always send a strong party to fetch them thence as
we require them."

"I do not think we can hit on any better plan, Porus;" and as there was a
murmur of assent he continued: "I propose, my friends, that we appoint Porus
the head of our victualling department, and leave the arrangements to him
entirely."

This point was settled. The next morning Porus, taking three of the
gladiators who most resembled the natives in appearance, started on his
mission. He was completely successful. The farmers on the upper slopes of the
hills lived in terror of the banditti among the mountains, and one was
readily induced, by the offer of a reward for his service, and of freedom
from all molestation, to undertake the business of getting up corn and wine.
Henceforth supplies of these articles were obtained regularly. Huts were soon
erected; the men were divided into hunting parties, and the life of the
fugitives passed quietly, and for a time without incident.

The persons with whom Beric had deposited his money had all been chosen
for him by Norbanus. He himself had been too long away from Italy to be
acquainted with any outside the walls of Rome; but among his friends there
were several who were able to recommend men of property and character to whom
the money could be committed with the certainty that it would be forthcoming
whenever demanded. At present Beric was amply supplied with funds, for the
money that Norbanus had sent to him would last for at least a year; but, four
months after reaching Bruttium, he thought it would be as well to warn those
in whose charge his own stores had been placed, to hold it in readiness by
them in case it should be suddenly asked for. Philo seemed to him the only
person he could send on such a mission, and upon the more important one of
going to Rome and communicating with Aemilia. He was certain of the fidelity
of the lad, and, properly disguised, he was less likely to be recognized in
Rome than Porus would be. Clothes such as would be worn by the son of a well
to do cultivator were obtained for him, and he was directed to take the road
along the coast to Rome, putting up at inns in the towns, and giving out that
he was on his way to the capital to arrange for the purchase of a farm
adjoining that of his father.

Letters were given him to the persons holding Beric's money; and one for
the goldsmith in Rome, with whom a portion of the money he had given for the
jewellery that Beric had received at the games was still deposited. This
letter was not to be delivered until he had been to the catacombs and seen
Aemilia; as, although Scopus had spoken very highly of the man, it was
possible that he might, to gain favour with Nero, hand over Beric's messenger
to him. Beric fully impressed upon Philo the risks he would run, and told him
to make all his calls after nightfall, and to be prepared for instant flight
if he mistrusted the manner of any of the men he visited.

"Do not be afraid, Beric," Philo said; "I will not be taken alive. I know
that they would torture me to force me to lead them to your hiding place, and
I would rather die a thousand times first. I was but a slave when I was
allotted to you in the palace of Nero. You have been kind to me, and trusted
me. You have allowed me to go with you, and have behaved to me as if I had
been free and one of your own people. I have my dagger, and if I see that
evil is intended me I will not wait until they lay hands on me, for then my
blow might fail, but will make sure. But before I start give me full
instructions what I am to say to the Lady Aemilia; for however fully you may
write, she will be sure to want to know more, and, above all, instruct me
what to do if she demands to join you, and commands me to bring her here.
This, methinks, she is sure to do, and I must have your instructions in the
matter."

"I shall tell her in my letter, Philo, that this is no place for her, and
that I cannot possibly have her here, among rough men, where, at any moment,
we may be called upon to make distant and toilsome journeys, and even to
fight for our lives."

"That is all very well, my lord; but suppose she says to me it is only
because Beric thinks that I cannot support fatigue and hardship that he does
not send for me; but I am willing and ready to do so, and I charge you,
therefore, to take me to him."

This was a point that Beric had many times thought over deeply. He, too,
felt sure that Aemilia would choose to be with him; and accustomed as the
Britons were for their wives to share their perils, and to journey with them
when they went on warlike expeditions, it seemed to him that she had almost a
right to be with him. Then, too, her life must be dreary in the extreme, shut
up in caverns where the light of day never penetrated, in ignorance of his
fate, and cut off from all kinsfolk and friends. The question so puzzled him
that he finally took Porus into his confidence, having a high idea of his
good sense.

"She cannot come here," Porus agreed; "but I do not see why you should not
bring her from that dismal place where you say she is, and establish her near
at hand, either at one of the upper farmhouses, or in a town by the sea. Let
me think it over. In an hour I will tell you what seems to me the best plan.
My counsel is this," he said, after he had been absent for an hour from the
hut, "I myself will go with the lad to fetch her. A Roman lady, even though a
fugitive, should not be travelling about the country under the protection of
a lad. I dare not go into Rome. I am known to too many of the gladiators,
and, disguise myself as I might, I should be recognized before I had been
there an hour. I will obtain a dress such as would suit a respectable
merchant; I will go down to one of the ports below and take passage in a
trading craft bound for Ostia. There I will take lodgings, and giving out
that my daughter, who has been staying with friends for her education in
Rome, is about to return to Messina with me, will purchase two or three
female slaves. When she arrives with Philo, who can pass as her brother and
my son, we will take ship and come down hither. I can then bring her up and
place her in the house of one of the farmers; or can, if you like, take a
house in the town, or lodge her there with people to whom one of the farmers
might recommend her. But, at any rate, she could come up to one of the farm
houses first, to see you, and then you could arrange matters between you. She
would really run no danger. You say she went out but little in Rome, and it
would be ill luck indeed were there anyone on this coast who met her there.
If it were not for your preposterous height, your yellow hair and blue eyes,
there would be no difficulty about the matter at all, for you would have but
to cross the straits into Sicily, to buy a small property there, and to
settle down quietly; but it is impossible with your appearance to pass as one
of the Latin race."

"Besides," Beric said, "I could not desert my comrades. Whatever their lot
may be, mine must be also. If we are ever to escape, we must escape together;
but for the rest, I think your plan is a good one, Porus, and thank you
heartily. When you get to Ostia you will learn all that is going on in Rome,
what has befallen Norbanus, and other matters. If Norbanus is alive, Aemilia
will certainly be in communication with him by means of the Christians, and
will, of course, be guided by his advice."

The next day Porus and Philo set out together. Three weeks passed, and
then one morning Philo entered the camp.

"All has gone well, my lord, the Lady Aemilia is at the house of the
farmer Cornelius, with whom Porus arranged to receive her on the morning we
left you. She has sent no letter, for there were no writing materials in the
house, but she awaits your coming."

Beric hastened away at once, accompanied by the lad, who by the way gave
an account of his journey.

"It was as I thought," he said. "When I came to the house you told me of,
I knocked as you instructed me, gave the ring to the man within and begged
him to take it to the Lady Aemilia. He at first pretended that he knew
nothing of such a person; but at last, on my showing him the letter addressed
to her, he said that some friends of his might know where she was, and that
if I called again, two hours before midnight, he might have news of her. When
I came back the Lady Aemilia was there. She asked many questions about your
health before she opened your letter, the one that you first wrote to her.
When she had read it she said, 'My lord bids me stay here, Philo, and I am,
above all things, bound to obey him; but he says that he bids me remain,
because the hardships would be too great for me. But I know that I could
support any hardships; and kind as they are to me here, I would rather go
through anything with my husband than remain here; the darkness and the
silence are more trying than any hardships. So you see that my lord's orders
were given under a misapprehension, and as I am sure he would not have given
them had he known that I was not afraid of hardships, and desired above all
things to be with him, I shall disobey them, and he, when I join him, must
decide whether I have done wrong, and, if he thinks so, send me away from
him."

"Then, my lord, seeing that it was so, I gave her your second letter, in
which you said that if she wished to join you you had made arrangements for
her doing so. Then she kissed the letter and cried over it, and said that she
was ready to depart when I came to fetch her. Then she told me that Norbanus
had opened his veins that night after she had left, and that the soldiers of
Nero arrived just too late to trouble him; that all his property had been
confiscated, and that she had no friends in the world but you.

"It took a week for Porus to obtain two suitable slaves—the one an
elderly woman and the other a young servant.

"The goldsmith handed over your money to me at once, saying, 'I am glad to
hear that Beric is alive. Tell him that he did badly in not slaying the
tyrant when he had him at his mercy. Tell him, too, there are rumours of deep
discontent among the legions in the provinces, and a general hope among the
better class of Romans that they will ere long proclaim a new emperor and
overthrow Nero. Tell him also to be on his guard. There is a talk of an
expedition on a large scale, to root out those who are gathered in the
mountains of Bruttium. It is said that it is to be commanded by Caius Muro,
who but a week ago returned from Syria.'"

"Is it so?" Beric exclaimed. "I know him well, having lived in his house
for years. I should be sorry indeed that we should meet as enemies. Heard you
aught of his daughter?"

"Not from the goldsmith, but afterwards. She is married, I hear, to
Pollio, who is of the family of Norbanus."

"I am indeed glad to hear it, Philo. He also was a great friend of mine,
and as he knew Muro in Britain, would doubtless have sought him out in Syria,
where he, too, held an office. 'Tis strange indeed that he should have
married Berenice, whom I last saw as a girl, now fully four years back. And
all went well on the voyage?"

"Well indeed, my lord. I took the Lady Aemilia down to Ostia in a carriage
with closed curtains. She stayed two days in the place Porus had hired, and
none suspected on the voyage that she was other than his daughter."

"And how is she looking, Philo?"

"At first, my lord, she was looking strangely white, and I feared that her
health had suffered; but she said that it was dwelling in the darkness that
had so whitened her, and indeed the sun during the voyage has brought the
colour back to her cheeks, and she is now looking as she used to do when I
carried letters to the house from Nero's palace."

Once arrived at the brow of the hill, looking down upon the Straits of
Messina, Beric's impatience could be no longer restrained, and he descended
the slope with leaps and bounds that left Philo far behind. Porus was at the
door of the farm; Beric grasped his hand.

"She is in there," he said, pointing to a door, and a moment later Aemilia
fell into his arms.

In half an hour the door opened.

"Come in, Porus and Philo," Beric called. "I must first thank you, both in
my own name and that of my betrothed, for the great service you have rendered
us, and the care and kindness with which you have watched over her. We have
settled nothing yet about the future, except that tomorrow I shall complete
the betrothal, and she will become my wife. It should be done today, but my
faithful Boduoc must be here as a witness. It would be a disappointment
indeed to him were he not to be present at my marriage. For the present, at
any rate, my wife will remain here.

"She would fain go up into the mountains, but that cannot be. Not only is
our life too rough for her, but her presence there would greatly add to my
anxieties. Here she will be safe, and you, Philo, will remain with her. I am
convinced that I can trust Cornelius. You have told me, Porus, that you are
assured of his honesty, and as I can pay him well, and he can have no idea
that the Romans would be glad to pay a far higher sum for my capture, he has
no temptation to be unfaithful to us; besides, his face is a frank and open
one. I shall charge him that, while Aemilia remains here, none of his men are
to accompany him when he goes down to the port, for, without meaning harm,
they might talk to people there of what is going on, and the matter might
come to the ears of the authorities."

"I think," Porus said, "it would be well, Beric, that I and the three men
who go down with me to bring up goods should take up our residence here.
There is an out house which is unused, and which we can occupy. In this way
we can keep an eye upon the two men on the farm, and one can be always on the
watch to see that no party of armed men is coming up from the port. I believe
in the good faith of the farmer, but it is always better to take
precautions."

"Far better, Porus. The plan you suggest is an excellent one. We must try
and make this chamber a little more fitting for Aemilia's abode."

"That will soon be done," Porus said. "Knowing what your wishes would be
in such a matter, I purchased at Ostia sufficient stuff to cover these bare
walls, with rugs and such furniture as was requisite. These I brought up in a
cart as far as the road extends, and I will now go down with Philo and the
two men and bring them up here and help the slaves get the room in
order."

Before sunset Beric returned alone to the camp, and the next morning came
back to the farm with Boduoc.

"There is one thing I must tell you, Beric," Aemilia said when he went in
alone to see her, "I have become a Christian."

"I thought it was likely you would do so, Aemilia," he said; "living among
these people, and knowing how Ennia had embraced their religion, it could
hardly be otherwise. You shall tell me about it afterwards. I know but little
of its tenets, but I know how those who held them faced death, and there must
be much indeed in a religion which teaches men so to die."

"You told me that you would not object, Beric, or I would have abstained
from attending their assemblies. Still, it was right I should tell you before
I became your wife."

Porus and his companion had spent the morning in gathering flowers. These
the slaves had made into wreaths and had decorated the room, which was
completely changed in appearance since Beric left it on the afternoon before.
The roughly built walls were hidden by rich hangings. The floor was covered
with matting, on which were placed thick rugs woven in the East. Two or three
carved couches were placed against the walls, and as many small tables on
tripod legs stood beside them. The farmer and his wife were called in, and in
their presence and that of his three followers Beric performed the simple
ceremony of a Roman marriage, consisting only of taking Aemilia's hand in his
and declaring that, in conformity with the conditions of the pact before made
and signed, and with the full consent and authorization of her father, he
took her to be his wife.

Beric remained three days down at the cottage, and then rejoined his band.
A few days later a messenger came in from one of the bands at the other side
of the promontory of Bruttium, saying they had obtained news that
preparations were being made at Sybaris for the landing of a very large body
of troops, and that it was said to be the intention of the Romans to make a
great expedition through the mountains and entirely exterminate the
outlaws.

"They would have left us alone," Beric said bitterly, "if it had not been
that you made yourselves scourges to the country, pillaging and ravaging the
villages among the hills and slaying innocent people."

"We were obliged to live," the man said. "Rome has driven us into the
mountains, and we must feed at the expense of Rome."

Beric was silent. He felt that had he himself not had means his own bands
would have also taken to pillage. The men who took to the hills regarded
themselves as at war with Rome. Rome sent her soldiers against them, and slew
every man captured. She hunted them like wild beasts, and as wild beasts they
had to live at her expense. Beric was not in advance of the spirit of his
time. It was the custom in war to burn, destroy, and slay.

That as Rome warred with them they should war with Rome seemed natural to
every fugitive in the hills, and they regarded their leader's action in
purchasing what he could have taken by force simply as an act of policy.
Their own people had been slain by the Romans, they themselves doomed to risk
their lives for the amusement of the Roman mob. If recaptured they would,
like the followers of Spartacus, be doubtless put to death by crucifixion.
That, under these circumstances, they should be in the slightest degree
influenced by any feeling of pity or humanity towards Romans would, if
suggested to them, have appeared supremely ridiculous.

Beric felt, then, that for him to say any further word of blame would only
have the effect of causing him to be regarded with suspicion and dislike, and
would lessen his own influence among the mountain bands.

He therefore said, "That you should take what is necessary is not
blamable, against it I have nothing to say; but it was to the interest of all
of us that nothing more should be taken. Rome would not have been stirred to
send an army against us merely by the complaints of peasants that some of
their goats and sheep had been driven off or their granaries emptied; but
when it comes to burning villages and slaughtering their inhabitants, and
carrying fire and sword down to the seashore, Rome was roused. She felt her
majesty insulted, and now we are going to have a veritable army invade the
mountains. It is no longer viewed as an affair of brigands, but as an
insurrection. However, there is no more to be said, the mischief is done, and
we have now only to do our best to repel the invasion. Tell your leaders that
tomorrow morning I will set out and join them, and will with them examine the
country, mark the lines by which the enemy are likely to advance, decide
where obstacles had best be erected, and where the first stand should be
made. It may be weeks yet before they come. Roman armies are not moved as
quickly as a tribe of mountaineers."

The following day Beric, taking with him the greater portion of his band,
marched across the hills under the guidance of the charcoal burner, who had
now enrolled himself regularly in its ranks, and had taken the oath of
obedience. Their course lay to the northeast, as it was in the Bay of
Tarentum that rumour reported that the Romans would land. As, after two days'
marching, they neared the spot fixed upon for the rendezvous, they came upon
other bands journeying in the same direction; and when these united on a
shoulder of the hill commanding a view of the great bay, some eight hundred
men were assembled. Fires had been already lighted, and a number of sheep
killed and roasted. The leaders withdrew from the rest as soon as they had
finished their meal, and seating themselves at a point whence they could see
the plains stretching away from the foot of the hills to the gulf, began
their consultation.

"I wonder why they are coming round here?" one of the chiefs said; "they
might have landed at Rhegium in the straits, and thence marched straight up
into the hills. From where your camp is, Beric, you should know what is going
on there, for the town stands almost below you. Is nought said there about
military preparations?"

"Nothing whatever," Beric replied; "nor do I think it likely that they
will attack from that point, for if they advanced thence, we should simply
retire through the mountains to the north just as we retired south when they
before attacked us. It is clear what their object is: they will sail up that
river and will disembark at Cosenza; the hills narrow there, and it is but a
short distance across them to the Western Sea. Ascending them they will at
once cut us off from any retreat north. They will have their magazines close
at hand. A thousand men stationed in a chain across the mountains will
suffice to bar our way, while the rest will move south, penning us up as they
go, until they drive us down to the very edge of the promontory, where,
joined perhaps by a force coming up from Rhegium, they will have us
altogether in their grip."

An expression of dismay spread round the circle. They had thought that the
Romans would but march straight through the mountains, in which case it would
be easy to evade them, but they saw at once that by the erection of a chain
of permanent posts across the hill from Cosenza they would be completely
hemmed in, and must sooner or later be hunted down.

"Then you think that our only chance is to move to the mountains north of
Cosenza before they land, Beric?"

"I do not say that," Beric replied. "To begin with, we are not going to
remain passive and allow ourselves to be driven like a flock of sheep into
the hurdles. Did they bring against us only heavy armed troops we could laugh
at them, for we can march two miles to their one, and move easily among the
rocks where they could find no footing. It is only their light armed soldiers
we have to fear, but even these must move at the same rate as the hoplites,
for if they ventured far away from the protection of the spearmen we should
make short work of them. We have over a thousand fighting men in these
mountains, and each one of us in close conflict is a match for at least three
of their light armed men. In the plains, of course, we should suffer greatly
from their missiles before we came to a close conflict; but among these woods
and precipices we could fall on them suddenly, and be in their midst before
they have time to lay arrow to bow. Therefore, you see, the Romans can move
but slowly among the hills, and we will soon teach them that they dare not
scatter, and even twelve thousand men do not go for much among these
mountains, extending some seventy miles from Cosenza to Rhegium, and from ten
to twenty miles across.

"How about food?" one of the others asked.

"In that respect we shall be far better off than they would. We shall
really have no difficulty about food. It would need twenty legions to form a
cordon along the slopes of these hills on both sides, and we can, while
opposing the Romans, always detach parties to make forays down into the plain
and drive off sheep, goats, and cattle. Besides, among the lower forests
there are herds of swine pasturing, which will be available for our use. The
question of food will be of no trouble to us, but on the other hand, it will
be a vast trouble to the Romans. Every foot that they advance from their
magazines at Cosenza their difficulties will increase. They must make roads
as they go, and their convoys will always be exposed to our attacks. Very
large bodies of men must otherwise be employed in escorting them. They may
form depots at the foot of the hills as they advance, but even then their
difficulties will be prodigious.

"I should propose to fight them as we fought them in the swamps of my
native land—to harass them night and day, to wear them out with false
alarms, to oppose them in the defiles, to hurl down the rocks on them from
precipices, to cut off their convoys, and fall upon their camps at night,
until they lose all confidence in themselves, and dare only move hither and
thither in a solid body. Not until they have destroyed the whole of the
forests between Cosenza and Rhegium, and made roads everywhere across the
mountains, ought they be able to overcome us. It will be time enough to think
of retiring then. By descending the western slopes a long night march would
take us north of Cosenza, and we could then take to the hills again; or we
could descend upon the coast near Rhegium at night, seize a fishing village,
embark in its boats and cross the strait, and before morning be among the
mountains of Sicily, which are so vast and far stretching that operations
which, though possible, are difficult here, could not probably be carried on
against us."

Beric's words were received with enthusiastic approval. Before all had
felt dispirited, and though ready to fight to the last, had deemed that the
resistance could be but short and their fate certain. Now they saw before
them a veritable war, in which they could hope to defend themselves
successfully, and if beaten here escape to renew it elsewhere, and which
promised them an abundant opportunity for encountering the Romans. This was
what they most longed for. Not one there but hated Rome with a bitter hatred,
as the author of unnumbered woes to their tribes, their families and
themselves. Death had no terrors whatever to these men, so that they could
die fighting with Romans. Rising to their feet they returned with exulting
shouts to their comrades.

XX. — MOUNTAIN WARFARE

THE gladiators sprang to their feet as their leaders
returned to them, and
eagerly questioned them as to the news that had so reanimated them. But they
only replied, "Beric will tell you," and Beric was obliged to mount a rock
near the spot where they had been feasting, and to repeat to the whole of the
assembly his plan for the campaign against the Romans. Loud shouts greeted
his speech, the Gauls and Britons clashing their swords against their shields
as was their custom, and the others signified their approval each after the
manner of his country.

"Beric is our leader! Beric is our leader!" they shouted. "We will follow
him to the death." When the tumult had subsided, Beric raised his hand for
silence.

"I am willing to accept the leadership," he said; "but if I must lead I
must be obeyed. In a warfare like this everything depends upon the orders of
him who commands being carried out promptly and without question. I only
accept the command because, although younger than most of you, I have already
fought the Romans often and successfully. Each of you will remain under your
respective chiefs, who will act as my lieutenants, and all must be ready to
sacrifice their own wishes and their own opinions to the general welfare.
Those whom I order to fight will fight, I know; those whom I tell off to fell
trees, to raise obstacles, or to pile stones on the edge of precipices, must
labour with equal zeal; while those who are despatched to drive up cattle, or
to guard them until needed in the forest, will know that their turn for
active fighting will come in good time. The man who disobeys me dies.

"It is only by acting as one man and under one leader that we can hope to
resist successfully. You are free men, and may consider it humiliating thus
to obey the orders of another; but the Romans are free men too, and yet they
submit to the severest discipline, and without the slightest question obey
the orders of their general. So it must be here. If all are disposed thus to
follow me I accept the command. Let those who cannot so submit themselves
withdraw and fight in their own fashion. They shall be free to depart, none
harming them."

A great shout followed the conclusion of Beric's speech, and the whole of
those present lifted up their hands and swore implicit obedience to him. The
next few days were spent in making a careful examination of the mountains
above Cosenza, and fixing upon the points where an active resistance could be
best made.

"We must have missiles," Beric said one day when his lieutenants were
gathered round him. "We will not begin the war until the Romans do so, but we
must have weapons. Boduoc, you will tomorrow take the whole of my band and
descend to the plain, fall upon the town of Castanium at daybreak; the bands
of Victor and Marsus will accompany you and will be also under your orders.
My orders are strict, that no one is to be injured unless he resists. Tell
the inhabitants that we wish them no harm. Ransack the armourers' shops for
arrow and javelin heads, and search all the private houses for weapons; also
bring off all the brass, copper, and iron you can find, with every axe head
and chopper in the town. We can erect charcoal furnaces here similar to those
we used at home, and so provide ourselves with an ample store of missiles.
Bring off from the carpenters' shops any seasoned wood you can find suitable
for the making of bows. Touch no gold or silver ornaments of the women
—the metals are useless to us here—neither take garments nor
spoil of any other kind. I would show them that, until driven to it, we are
not the foes of the people at large. Above all frighten no woman; let them
see that we, though gladiators and outlaws, are as well disciplined and as
humane as their own soldiery."

Accordingly at sunset Boduoc marched away at the head of two hundred men,
and returned to the mountains late on the following afternoon with a large
store of arms and metal, Beric's orders having been scrupulously carried
out.

"You should have seen the wonder of the people," Boduoc said to him, "when
they saw that we meant them no harm, and that we touched neither person nor
goods save in the matter of arms. They gave us their best to eat, and many
even accompanied us some distance on our return, overjoyed with the clemency
we had shown the town."

There was no lack of charcoal, and in many places the stacks had been left
by the charcoal burners untouched when the bands first appeared among the
mountains. Those who had been accustomed to the smelting of metals at home
were appointed to cast heads for arrows and javelins, others cut down and
split up tough wood and fashioned the shafts, others made bows; strong
parties were set to work to fell trees and form obstacles in defiles where
the rocks rose steeply, while others piled great heaps of stones and heavy
rocks along the edges of the precipices. As yet there were no signs of the
expected fleet, and when the preparations were complete the bands again
scattered, as it was easier so to maintain themselves in provisions; and, a
party being left to watch for the arrival of the Roman legions, Beric
returned with his band to his former station.

"There will be plenty of time to gather again before they move forward,"
he said to their lieutenants. "They will have to collect the carts from all
the country round, to land their stores and to make their arrangements for
victualling. They will know that it is no easy task that they are
undertaking, and that they have desperate men to meet. It will be a week
after they land at the very earliest before they leave Cosenza."

For a fortnight Beric remained quietly passing the greater portion of his
time at the farmhouse with Aemilia.

"It is terrible to me that you are going to fight the Romans, Beric," she
said.

"I have no desire to fight the Romans, it is they who want to fight with
me," he replied; "and as I have no desire for crucifixion, or any of the
other forms of death which they bestow upon their captives, I have no choice
but to resist. As you do not think any the worse of me, Aemilia, for having
fought your countrymen before, I don't see that you can take it to heart that
I am going to do it again, especially as you have very small reason to be
grateful to them for the treatment that you and yours have received at their
hands. You must remember, dear, that as my wife, you are a Briton now, and
must no longer speak of the Romans as your people. Still, were it not for my
countrymen, I would gladly bury myself with you in some cottage far up among
the hills of Sicily, and there pass my life in quiet and seclusion. But
without a leader the others would speedily fall victims to the Romans, and as
long as the Romans press us, I must remain with them."

At the end of the fortnight a messenger arrived saying that a great fleet
had arrived at the mouth of the Crathis River.

"I will from time to time send a messenger to you, Aemilia," Beric said as
he took a tender farewell of his wife, "to tell you how matters go with us;
but do not alarm yourself about me, for some time there is little chance of
close fighting."

The bands gathered in their full force above Cosenza, and during the week
that elapsed before the Romans advanced renewed their labour at various
passes through which it was probable that the enemy would move. Some of the
men were already skilled archers, and the rest had spent their time for the
last fortnight in incessant practice, and could manage their weapons
sufficiently well to be able to send an arrow into a crowded mass of men.

It was with a feeling of satisfaction that the Roman column was seen one
morning issuing from Cosenza and moving up the road that there crossed the
mountains. Once on the crest they proceeded to cut down trees and form a
camp. While they were so occupied the gladiators remained on the defensive.
Light armed troops had been pushed by the Romans into the woods, but after
being permitted to advance some distance the sound of a horn was heard,
followed instantly by a flight of arrows, and then by a rush of the
gladiators, who drove these light armed troops before them, killing many,
till they reached the protection of the spearmen.

Again and again during the ensuing week the Romans endeavoured to
penetrate the woods, heavy armed troops accompanying the archers. Before they
had penetrated far into the forest they found their way arrested by
obstacles— lines of felled trees with the branches pointing towards
them, and these were only taken after severe loss, the defenders shooting
through the green hedge, which was only broken through when working parties
with heavy axes came up covered by the spearmen. One party, pushing on
incautiously, was suddenly attacked on all sides, and after pouring in their
missiles the gladiators charged them, broke the ranks of the spearmen, and
destroyed the whole party, three hundred in number.

After this the advance was delayed until the fortified camp was complete
and stored with provisions. Then the Roman army moved forward, and was soon
engaged in a succession of combats. Every valley and ravine was defended,
invisible foes rolled down masses of rock among them and a hail of arrows,
and it was only when very strong bodies of archers, supported by spearmen,
climbed the heights on both sides that the resistance ceased. The Romans
halted for the night where they stood, but there was little sleep for them,
for the woods rang with war cries in many languages. The sentries were shot
or stabbed by men who crawled up close to them. At times the shouts became so
threatening and near that the whole force was called to its feet to repel
attack, but in the morning all was quiet. As before, they were attacked as
soon as they moved forward. No serious opposition was offered to the columns
of spearmen, but the light armed troops who covered the advance and formed a
connection between the columns were exposed to incessant attack.

The third day the Romans, after another disturbed night, again advanced.
This time they met with no opposition, and as they moved cautiously forward,
wondered uneasily what was the meaning of this silence. Late in the afternoon
they learned. They had advanced, each man carrying three days' provisions
with him. Beric, being aware that this was their custom, had during the night
led his men some distance down the hillside, and making a detour occupied
before morning the ground the Romans had passed over. At midday a great
convoy of baggage animals, laden with provisions, came along. It extended
over a great length, and came in straggling order, the men leading their
animals, and making their way with difficulty through the thick trees. Five
hundred Roman soldiers were scattered along the line. Suddenly the sound of a
horn rose in the woods, and in an instant, at points all along the line of
the convoy, strong bodies of men burst down upon them.

In vain the Roman soldiers tried to gather in groups. The animals,
frightened by the shouting and din, broke loose from their leaders and rushed
wildly hither and thither, adding to the confusion. Greatly outnumbered, and
attacked by foes individually their superiors both in strength and skill of
arms, and animated by a burning hatred, the Romans could do little, and the
combat terminated in a few minutes in their annihilation. The men with the
convoy were all killed, a line of gladiators having been posted through the
woods, both ahead and behind it, before the attack began, so that no
fugitives might escape either way to carry the news.

The animals were then collected, and their burdens taken off and examined.
The flour was divided up into parcels that a man could easily carry on his
shoulder, and a large number of skins of wine set aside. All that could not
be taken was scattered and destroyed, and the animals then slaughtered. As
soon as it became dark the band descended the mountain side, marched for many
miles along its foot, and then again ascended the hills, ready to oppose the
Roman advance; but there was no movement in the morning. Surprised and
alarmed at the non-arrival of the train by nightfall, the general sent a
strong body of troops back to meet them with torches. These in time came upon
the bodies of the men and animals, and at once returned with the news of the
disaster to the camp.

"This is a terrible blow, Pollio," the general said to his son-in-law. "We
had reckoned on an obstinate resistance, but did not dream that the
gladiators would thus oppose us."

"It puts me in mind, Muro, of the work in the fens of Britain; and indeed
more than once I have thought I recognized the war cries with which the Iceni
attacked us. The strategy is similar to that we then encountered. Can it be
possible that Beric is again opposing us? I heard during the short time we
were in Rome that the Britons in the palace of Nero had risen and escaped. I
was too heartbroken at the fate of my uncle and his family to ask many
questions, and was fully occupied in our preparations. My first thought would
have been to find Beric out had I not been met on landing with the news of
the disgrace and death of Norbanus, and I shunned the palace of Nero as if
the pestilence had been there. No doubt Beric would have left with the other
Britons, and in that case he may well be at the head of those opposing
us."

"The tactics they are adopting certainly look like it, Pollio; and if they
continue to fight as they have done so far, we are likely to have no better
fortune than Suetonius had in his campaign against them. It is ten days since
we left Cosenza, we have made but some ten miles advance among the hills, and
we have lost already eight hundred hoplites, and I know not how many light
armed troops. At this rate our force will melt away to nothing before we have
half cleared this wilderness of rock and forest. Hitherto in their revolts
the gladiators have met our troops in pitched battle, but their strength and
skill have not availed against Roman discipline. But in such fighting as this
discipline goes for little. They are fighting on ground they know, can choose
their moment for attack, and hurl all their strength on one point while we
are groping blindly."

"But how can they have got through our lines in the night, Muro?" Pollio
asked. "Our men were posted down to the edge of the forest on either side of
the hills. There were two thousand under arms all night."

"But there was nothing to prevent them, Pollio, from descending far below
the forest line and coming up again in our rear. This is what they must have
done. Nor have we any means of preventing their doing so, for nothing short
of a force strong enough to reach down to the sea on either hand would
prevent their passing us. At any rate we must halt here for a time. The whole
of our baggage animals are destroyed, and nothing can be done until another
train is collected."

The war proceeded but slowly. The Romans indeed made some slight advance,
but they were worn out and harassed by incessant alarms. To prevent the
recurrence of the disaster to the baggage train the supplies were now carried
along the plain at the foot of the hill, and then taken up under very strong
escorts directly to the point at which the army had arrived. The soldiers,
worn out and dispirited by constant alarms, became reluctant to advance
unless in solid order; and in this way five thousand men, taking nine days'
provisions with them, made their way through the heart of the hills until
they reached the southern slopes, and the sea lay before them. But they
occupied only the ground on which they stood, and their passage brought them
no nearer to the end they desired. The fact that the army had made a passage
right through the mountains was regarded as a triumph in Rome, and believing
that the end was near fresh reinforcements were sent to Muro to enable him to
finish the campaign rapidly. His reports, however, to the senate left no
doubt in the minds of those who read them as to the situation.

"We are fighting," he said, "an enemy who will not allow us to strike him.
Three months have passed since I entered the mountains, and yet I cannot say
that I am nearer the end than I was when I began. I have lost three thousand
men, of whom half are spearmen. The gladiators have suffered but slightly,
for they always burst down in overwhelming numbers, slay, and retire. At
least twenty times my camps have been attacked; and although I have lost but
one convoy, the difficulty and labour of victualling the troops is enormous.
If the gladiators would but take to the plain we should annihilate them in
the first battle. As it is, it is they who select the ground for action, and
not we. The troops are utterly worn out and well nigh mutinous at what they
consider a hopeless task. You ask me what had best be done. My own opinion
is, that we should retire from the mountains and establish the troops in
camps near their foot, so as to restrain the gladiators from making
excursions, and to fall upon them when hunger drives them to leave the
mountains. Treachery may then do what force has failed in.

"Among such a body there must be traitors, and when the war is apparently
ended we may, through shepherds or goatherds, open communication with them.
My great fear is, and always has been, that as we gradually press them south
they may pour down on to one of the villages on the straits, seize the boats,
cross to Sicily, and take refuge in the mountains there, where they could
laugh at our efforts to pursue them. I should advise that it should be
announced publicly that our army, having traversed the whole mountains of
Bruttium without meeting with a foe, the objects of the expedition have been
attained, and the enemy may now be considered as a mere mass of fugitives,
whom it would be impossible to root out as long as they take refuge among
their fastnesses; but that for the present the army will be placed in a
cordon of camps round the foot of the mountains, by which means the fugitives
will be starved into surrender. If this course is not approved I have but one
other to suggest, namely, that the whole of the population of southern Italy
should be ordered to take part in the total destruction of the forests of
Bruttium. Every tree must be cut down to the level of the soil; every trunk
and branch be burnt by fire. The task would be a tremendous one. The loss to
the country around by the destruction of the forests, wherein their flocks of
sheep and goats and their herds of swine find sustenance and shelter in
winter, would be enormous, but thus, and thus alone, I am assured, can these
bands of gladiators be rooted out."

Muro's advice was taken, and the exulting gladiators beheld the troops
descending from the mountains to the plains below. Their own loss had not
exceeded three hundred men, and their shouts of triumph rose high in the
woods, and reached the ears of the Romans retiring sullenly down the slopes.
In a few days the plan of the Romans became apparent. The camp in the pass
above Cosenza was still strongly held, four well fortified camps were
established in the plains on either side of the hills, and Muro himself took
up his post at Rhegium, where two thousand legionaries were posted. The
gladiators again broke up into bands, Beric returning to his former
encampment, to the delight of Aemilia.

"You must not suppose that our troubles are over, Aemilia," he said. "We
have indeed beaten them on our own ground, but we shall now have to fight
against famine. The wild animals have already become scarce. You may be sure
that the villagers will be allowed to send no more flocks or herds up the
hills to pasture, and before long it will be necessary to make raids for
food. You will see that, emboldened by their successes, the men will become
rash, and may be cut off and defeated. As for us there is no fear; as long as
we can pay for provisions we shall be able to obtain them, for although there
may be difficulty in obtaining regular supplies, now that the troops are at
Rhegium, all these upland farmers and villagers will continue to deal with
us, knowing that if they do not we shall take what we need without payment
and perhaps burn their houses over their heads."

It was not long, indeed, before Beric's predictions were verified. As soon
as the provisions became scarce the bands on the other side of the mountains
recommenced their forays on the villagers, but from the Roman camps parties
of soldiers were sent off after nightfall to the upper villages, and the
marauders were several times surprised and almost exterminated.

"We must be more and more careful," Beric said to Aemilia when he heard of
one of these disasters. "The prisoners the Romans take will under torture
tell all they know, and it will not be long before the Romans ascertain the
general position of our encampment. The force will dwindle rapidly. In the
last two months they have lost well nigh as many men as in the campaign in
the mountains. More than that, I have seen several of the leaders, who told
me they had determined, seeing that starvation was approaching them here, to
endeavour to pass between the Roman camps with their bands, and regain the
mountains beyond Cosenza, so as to establish themselves far north; and indeed
I cannot blame them. But their retreat adds to our danger. So long as they
roamed the eastern hills there was no danger of a Roman force surprising us,
but when they have gone some of the captives may be forced to lead the Romans
across the hills to our neighbourhood. Boduoc is vigilant and his scouts are
scattered far round the camp, and at the worst we may have to carry out my
plan of crossing to Sicily. At any rate he has my orders what to do in case
of a sudden surprise. If I am absent, knowing every foot of the wood now, he
will at once make his way north, leaving it to me to rejoin him as I best
can."

But upon one thing Beric had not reckoned. So long as the gladiators were
in force among the mountains the country people on the slopes above the
straits were glad enough to purchase their safety by silence. But as they
heard of one band after another being crushed by the Romans, and learned that
parties from the various camps had penetrated far into the hills without
meeting with a single opponent, their fear of the gladiators decreased. There
were two thousand legionaries at Rhegium. These could crush the band that
remained somewhere about the crest of the hills with ease, and they need no
longer fear their vengeance. The Roman general would surely pay a great
reward for information that would lead to his being able to deal a final blow
to the gladiators. The farmer with whom Aemilia lodged had no such thought.
He had earned in the last eight months as much as his farm had brought him in
the three best years since he inherited it. He found these terrible outlaws
gentle and pleasant, ready to lend a hand on the farm if needful, and
delighted to play with his children. As to their chief, he was a source of
never ending wonder to him. Gladiators were, according to his idea, fierce
and savage men, barbarians who were good for nothing but to kill each other,
while this tall man bore himself like a Roman of high rank, conversed in pure
Latin, and could even read and write. Aemilia, too, had become a great
favourite in the house. The farmer's wife wondered at seeing one, with two
slaves to wait upon her, active and busy, interested in all that went on, and
eager to learn every detail of the housework.

"I could manage a Roman household, Beric," she said. "I did so indeed all
the time we were in Rome; but we may have to live in a hut, and I must know
how to manage and cook for you there."

In Rhegium life was more cheerful than usual. Many of the upper class of
Rome, who shrank from the festivities of the court of Nero and yet dared not
withdraw altogether from Rome, had their country estates and villas along the
coasts, where they could for a time enjoy freedom and live according to their
tastes. Berenice had joined Pollio three weeks before, when she found that he
was likely to remain stationed at Rhegium for some time. They lived with Muro
in a villa a short distance from the town, and looking over the straits.

"I should feel perfectly happy here, Pollio," Berenice said one evening as
she walked to and fro on the terrace with him, looking at the water in which
the moonlight was reflected, bringing up into view the boats rowing here and
there with pleasure parties with music and lanterns, "if it were not for the
thought of Beric. It is curious that he should be mixed up with both our
lives. He was my playmate as a boy; he saved me at the massacre of
Camalodunum, and restored me to my father. When we left Britain he was
fighting against Suetonius, and we expected when we left that the news of his
defeat and death would reach Rome before us. At Rome we heard but vague
rumours that Suetonius had not yet overcome the final resistance of the
Britons, and glad we were when Petronius was sent out to take his place, and
we heard that gentler measures were to be used towards the Britons.

"Then, after a time, when we were in Syria, came the news that Suetonius
had returned, bringing with him Beric, the British chief, with twenty of his
followers, and my father at once wrote to the emperor praying him that
clemency might be extended to him for his kind action in saving my life. Then
when you came out to Syria Beric's name again came up. You had journeyed with
him from Britain to Rome, and he had become your friend. Then a few months
afterwards a newcomer from Rome brought us the story of how your cousin
Ennia, having turned Christian, had been condemned to the lions; how a
British gladiator named Beric had sprung into the arena and craved to fight
the lion; how Nero had cruelly ordered him to do so unarmed; and how he had,
as it seemed by a miracle, overcome the lion and bound him by strips torn
from his mantle. Then again we learned from one who came from Nero's court
that Beric stood high in favour with Caesar, that he was always about his
person, and that rumours said he kept guard over him at night.

"Then again, when we returned to Rome, my father was at once ordered to
take command of an expedition against some revolted gladiators, among whom
were, it was said, the British captives who had created a disturbance in
Nero's palace, well nigh killed the emperor, and after slaying many of the
Praetorians, escaped. After you and my father had left me at the house of my
uncle Lucius I made many inquiries, and found that Beric had doubtless
escaped with the other Britons, as he had never been seen in the palace that
night. I heard too that it had been whispered by some of those who were
present at the supper, that the fault had not been his. He had been betrothed
to your cousin Aemilia, and Nero, urged thereto by Rufinus, a disappointed
suitor, ordered Beric to bring her to the orgy. Upon his refusal Rufinus
attacked him, and Beric slew him by dashing his head against a marble pillar.
Then Nero called upon the Praetorians, and the Britons ran in to the aid of
their chief, and, defeating the Praetorians, escaped. It was the same night
that your uncle died and Aemilia was missing. It may be that she fled with
Beric, knowing that she would be sacrificed to the fury of Nero. Is it not
strange, Pollio, that this Briton should be so mixed up in both our
lives?"

"It is indeed, Berenice. There is no one to whom I owe so much. First I
owe your life to him, then I owe that of Ennia, my cousin; for although she
died afterwards, it was in her father's house, and not a terrible and
disgraceful death in the arena. And now we have been fighting against him for
months, and though of course we made the best of matters, there is no doubt
that we had all the worst of it. We had twelve thousand men against a
thousand, and yet Beric kept us at bay and inflicted some terrible blows upon
us, for we lost a third of our number. After the first battle there was no
longer any doubt that Beric was the leader of our opponents. Even had we not
heard them shout his name as they attacked us, we who had fought against him
in Britain would have recognized that he was again our opponent; for he used
the same tactics among the mountains that he had done in the swamps. We know
from prisoners we have taken since that he was unharmed in the struggle with
us, and certainly neither he nor any of his Britons have been among the
raiding bands whom we have surprised and destroyed. Indeed the Britons never
joined in any of the attacks upon the country people before we came hither. I
have questioned many of the sufferers by their depredations, and none of them
had seen among the plunderers any tall men with light hair. The only time
that they have been seen on the plains was a fortnight before we landed, when
they entered Castanium and carried off all the arms. The Britons were among
that party, and a Briton commanded it; but from the description it was not
Beric, but was, I think, his principal follower, a man with a British name
which I forget."

"Was it Boduoc?" Berenice asked. "I have often heard him speak of a friend
of his with such a name, and indeed he came once or twice to see him when he
was with us."

"That was the name—Boduoc," Pollio said. "They behaved with the
greatest gentleness, injuring no one and taking nothing, neither jewels, nor
ornaments, nor garments, but departing quietly after taking possession of all
the weapons in the town.

"Your father reported the fact to Rome, bringing into prominence the fact
that this was the first time the Britons had ever descended from the
mountains, and that the inhabitants of Castanium were filled with gratitude
and admiration for the treatment they received. Last week he wrote to Rome
saying that so far as he could learn all the bands that had not been
destroyed had gone north, save one composed of Britons and Gauls, about
fourscore in number, commanded by the Briton Beric, and suggested that as
months might pass before they could be captured, he should be authorized to
treat with them, and to offer them full pardon if they would lay down their
arms, especially as they had taken no part whatever in the misdeeds of the
other gladiators, and had injured no one either in person or property. I know
that it was a great disappointment to him, as well as to us, when the letter
came yesterday saying that they were to be hunted down and destroyed, and
that all not killed in fighting were to be crucified. But we had better go
in, Berenice, the dew is beginning to fall."

They entered the villa. The general was alone in the atrium.

"Is anything the matter, father?" Berenice asked, as she saw that he
looked disturbed.

"Yes, Berenice, I have received news that as a Roman general ought to
delight me, but which, as Caius Muro, your father and the father in law of
Pollio, vexes me greatly."

"What is it, father?"

"A man arrived half an hour since saying that he had news of importance to
communicate. He was brought in here. He told me he was a cultivator whose
farm lay far up on the hillside. For upwards of a year he had, in fear of his
life, as he said, been compelled to sell food to the bandits in the
mountains. He acknowledged that he had been well paid, and that he had no
cause of complaint against them; but he now professed a desire to do service
to Rome, for which he evidently expected a handsome reward. I told him I
could not bargain with him. He had aided the enemies of Rome, and by his own
account his life was forfeited, seeing that for a year he had been
trafficking with them, instead of doing his duty and reporting their first
visit to the authorities here.

"He said that he was not alone, and that most of the farmers high up on
the hills had been compelled to do the same, and had kept silence, knowing
that the brigands would have burned their houses and slain their wives and
families had they reported aught against them to the authorities, and that,
indeed, they were altogether ignorant of the position of the camp of the
outlaws beyond the fact that it was somewhere among the mountains. 'What,
then, have you to report?'I said angrily, for I hate to have to do with
traitors. 'It is this,' he said: 'for some months there has been living a
lady, supposed to be the wife of the chief of the outlaws, at a farm next to
mine, belonging to one Cornelius. The chief often visits her and stays there;
five of his followers live in an out house adjoining the farm, and one of
these is always on guard night and day.

"'The chief himself is a very tall young man, and is called Beric by his
followers. Four of them are also of his race, tall and very fair like him.
There is also a youth who lives in the house. He belongs to the band, but
appears to be a native of Rome. He sometimes comes down and makes purchases
in Rhegium. The house cannot be approached from below without an alarm being
given, owing to the strictness of the watch; but I could lead a body of
troops high up above it, so as to come down upon the rear of the house and
cut off all escape when another band comes up from below.'I told him that his
information was valuable, and that he was to come here to-morrow evening at
eight o'clock to lead a party of light armed troops up into the hills."

"And you will send them, father?" Berenice broke in; "surely you will not
take advantage of this treachery."

"I have no choice but to do so," the general said gravely. "As a father I
would give my right hand to save the man who preserved your life; as a Roman
soldier my duty is to capture the outlaw, Beric, by any means possible.
Pollio will tell you the same."

Berenice looked at her husband, who stood in consternation and grief at
the news. "Do you say this too, Pollio?"

Pollio did not answer, but the general spoke for him. "He can say nothing
else, Berenice. To a Roman soldier duty is everything, and were he ordered to
arrest his own father and lead him to execution he could not hesitate."

"But I am not a soldier—" Berenice began passionately.

The general held up his hand suddenly. "Hush, Berenice, not a word
farther! I am a Roman general. If you say one word that would clash with my
duty I should order you to your chamber and place a soldier there on guard
over you. Now I will leave you with your husband;" and the general left the
room.

"What do you say, Pollio? Will you suffer this man, who saved your wife,
who risked his life for your cousin, and is, as it seems, your cousin by
marriage, to be foully captured and crucified?"

"I am a soldier, Berenice; do not tempt me to break my duty. You heard
what your father said."

Berenice stamped her foot. "Does your duty go so far, Pollio, that like my
father you would place a guard at my door if I said aught that would seem to
run counter to your duty?"

"Not at all, Berenice," he said with a smile; "say aught you like. I hear
as a husband but not as a soldier."

"Well, that is something," Berenice said, mollified. "Well, Pollio, if you
will not warn Beric of his danger I will do so. Have I your permission to act
as I choose?"

"My full permission, dear. Do as you like; act as you choose; you have
beforehand my approval. If you fail and harm comes of it I will stand by you
and share your punishment; but tell me nothing of what you would do
beforehand. I trust you wholly, but for my sake, if not for your own, be not
rash. Remember, if by any means it becomes known that you aided Beric to
escape, both our lives are surely forfeited."

"Thank you, Pollio," Berenice said, throwing her arms round his neck,
"that is spoken like my husband. You shall know nothing, and I will save
Beric."

XXI. — OLD FRIENDS

BERIC and Aemilia were sitting on the following day in the
shade in front
of the house, where Porus had erected a verandah of boughs to keep off the
sun, when they observed a female peasant and an elderly man ascending the
hill. They were still some distance down, and the man spoke to one of the
farm men who was on his way down the hill.

"They are coming this way," Aemilia said; "they have passed the point
where the paths fork. She seems to find that basket she is carrying heavy,
and no wonder, for it is a steep climb under the midday sun."

Stopping once or twice to get breath the two peasants approached.

"She is a good looking girl, Beric," Aemilia said.

"Our host has two or three nieces down in the town," Beric replied; "I
expect it is one of them. Yes, she is certainly pretty, and not so browned
and sunburnt as most of these peasant girls are."

As they came close the girl stopped and looked at the house, and then,
instead of going to the entrance, left her companion and walked across to the
verandah. A smile came across her face.

"Shall I tell you your fortune?" she said abruptly to Aemilia.

"It is told," Aemilia said; "to be a farmer's wife. But what do you know
of fortunes?"

"I can tell you the past if not the future," the young woman said, setting
down her basket. "May I do so?"

"You are a strange girl," Aemilia said, "but tell me what you can."

"I can see an amphitheatre," the girl went on, "a great one, greater than
that across at Messina, and it is crowded with people. In the front row there
sits a man past middle age and a lady and a girl. In the centre of the arena
is a young girl in white."

"Hush, hush!" Aemilia cried, leaping to her feet, "say no more. You know
me, though how I cannot guess."

"I see another scene," the girl went on without heeding her; "it is a hut.
It must belong to some savage people. It is quite unlike our cottages. There
is an old woman there and a man and a young girl. The old woman does not
speak to them; she does not seem of the same race; the other two are Romans.
The mat at the door is pushed aside and there enters a tall youth. Not so
tall as this man, not so strong; and yet like him, just as a boy might be to
a man.

"The girl jumps up and exclaims 'Beric.'"

Beric had risen to his feet also now. "Is it possible," he cried, "that as
the boy has grown into the man, so has the girl grown into—" and he
stopped.

"Into a young woman, Beric. Yes, don't you remember me now?"

"It is Berenice!" he exclaimed.

"It is indeed, Beric, the child you saved from death. And this is your
wife Aemilia, the daughter of Norbanus, who is the uncle of my husband
Pollio. And do you not know who that is standing there?"

"Why, surely it is my tutor and friend Nepo;" and running towards him he
embraced him with heartiness and then led him to the verandah, where Berenice
was talking with Aemilia.

"But why are you thus disguised, and how did you know that Aemilia and I
were here?"

"We have come to warn you, Beric. You have been betrayed, and tonight
there will be troops ranged along above the house to cut off your retreat,
and a company of soldiers will advance from below straight upon the house. My
father told me, I think, in order that I might save you, though as a Roman
general he could do nought save his duty. Pollio, too, though he said he
would willingly give his sanction, knows not that I have come hither. He
pretended that his duty as a soldier prevented him from warning you, though I
believe that had not I been with him his friendship and gratitude would have
been too much for his duty. However, I was with him, and he gave me
permission to come; though, mind you, I should have come whether he gave me
permission or not. You did not ask permission of anyone when you saved me,
and even if Pollio had threatened to divorce me if I disobeyed him I would
have come; but as I needed a disguise, and did not like to trust any of the
slaves, I took Nepo into my confidence, and he managed everything."

"It requires less bravery to come up here with a message, Aemilia, than to
run away from Rome with an outlaw who had just bearded Caesar in his
palace."

"I did not do that, Berenice. It was not because I was unwilling, but
because Beric would not take me with him. I stayed for months in Rome, hidden
in the Catacombs with the Christians, until Beric sent for me to join him
here; but come inside and take some refreshment, for you must be weary indeed
with your long walk up the hill."

"No one else must see me," Berenice said. "There may be inquiries when
they come tonight and find that you are gone, and I would not that any should
see me."

"No one will see you. The room is situated at the back of the house, and
though I shall take the slaves with us in our flight, they shall not catch
even a glimpse of your face. I will set them some needlework to do."

They were soon seated in Aemilia's room, and Beric brought in fruit and
wine, goat's milk, cheese, and bread.

"There is no hurry for me to return," Berenice said. "The slaves believe
that I have gone out to pay some visits, and I do not wish to get back until
after sunset. There is so much for Beric to tell us.

"You do not know, Beric, how often Nepo and I have talked about it, and
how we have longed to see you, and I believe that what drew me first to
Pollio was his praises of you. But before you begin there is one thing I must
tell you. My father has received private news from Rome; there is a report
there that the legions have proclaimed Galba emperor, and that ere long he
will be in Rome. At present it is but a rumour, and of course at court all
profess to disbelieve it, and Nero openly scoffs at the pretensions of Galba;
but the friend who wrote to my father says that he believes it true. Now my
father is a great friend of Galba's. They were much together as young men,
and served together both in Gaul and Syria; and he feels sure that if Galba
comes to the throne he will be able to obtain a pardon for you and those with
you, since you have done no one harm save when attacked. He attempted to
procure it from Nero, but altogether without success; with Galba it will be
different, especially as a new emperor generally begins his reign by acts of
clemency. Now, as I have given you my news, Beric, do you tell us, while we
are eating the fruit, everything that has happened to you since I last saw
you at that hut."

"So much has happened that it will be impossible to tell you all,
Berenice; but I will give you the outline of it. The principal thing of all
is, that I have taken a wife."

Berenice pouted. "It is lucky for you, Aemilia, that I was not at Rome
when Beric arrived, for I had as a girl always determined that I should some
day marry him and become a British chieftainess. He had not seen you then
except at Massilia, and I should have had him all to myself at Rome, for you
did not get there, Pollio tells me, until months later."

Aemilia laughed. "I should not have entered the lists against you,
Berenice. It was not until after he saved Ennia from the lion in the arena
that I came to love him."

"Well, I must put up with Pollio," Berenice said. "He is your cousin, and
I have nothing to say against him as a husband; he is kind and indulgent, and
a brave soldier, and all one could want; but he is not a hero like
Beric."

Beric laughed. "You should have said a giant, Berenice, which would have
been much nearer the truth. And now I will tell you my story;" and during the
next two hours he gave her a sketch of all that had passed since they had
last parted in Britain.

"There, Cneius Nepo," Berenice said when he had finished. "You never
thought for a moment that your pupil, who used to pore with you over those
parchments, till I often wished I could throw them in the fire when I wanted
him to play with me, was to go through such adventures—to match himself
first against Suetonius, and then against my father, both times with honour;
to be Nero's bodyguard; to say nothing of fighting in the arena, and getting
up a revolt in the palace of Caesar."

"I expected great things of him," Nepo said; "but not like these. I
fancied he would become a great chief among the British, and that he might
perhaps induce them to adopt something of our civilization. I had fancied him
as a wise ruler; and, seeing how fond he was of the exercise of arms, I had
thought long before the insurrection broke out that some day he might lead
his countrymen to battle against us, and that, benefiting by his study of
Caesar and other military writers, he would give far more trouble to the
Romans than even Caractacus had done. But assuredly I never dreamt of him as
fighting a lion barehanded in a Roman arena in defence of a Roman girl. As to
marriages, I own that the thought crossed my mind that the union of a great
British chief with the daughter of a Roman of rank like your father would be
an augury of peace, and might lead to better relations between the two
countries."

"That dream must be given up," Berenice said seriously, "there are two
obstacles. But I have no doubt Aemilia would make quite as good a
chieftainess as I should have done. Some day, Aemilia, if you return to
Britain with Beric, as I hope you will do, and Pollio becomes a commander of
a legion, I will get him to apply for service there. It is cold and foggy;
but wood is a good deal more plentiful and cheaper than it is at Rome, and
with good fires one can exist anywhere. And now it is time for us to be
going. We will take another path in returning down the hills, so that any one
who noticed us coming up will not see us as we descend. Nepo's toga and my
stola are hidden in a grove just outside the town, and it will be dusk by the
time we arrive there. Kiss me, Aemilia; I am glad that I know you, for I have
heard much of you from Pollio. I am glad that Beric has chosen so well.
Goodbye, Beric; I hope we may meet again before long, and that without danger
to any of us. You may salute me if Aemilia does not object—I told
Pollio I should permit it;" and she laughingly lifted up her face to him. "He
never used to kiss me when I was a child," she said to Aemilia. "I always
thought it very unkind, and was greatly discontented at it. Now, Nepo, let us
be going."

Beric and his wife stood watching them until they were far down the hill.
"She makes light of it," Beric said; "but it is no common risk she has run.
Nero can punish women as well as men, and were it to come to his ears that
she has enabled me to escape his vengeance, even the influence of her father
might not avail to save her."

"I shall remember her always in my prayers," Aemilia said earnestly, "and
pray that she too may some day come to know the truth."

Beric did not answer. Aemilia had explained to him all that she knew of
her religion, but while admitting the beauty of its teaching, and the
loftiness of its morals, he had not yet been able to bring himself to believe
the great facts upon which it was based.

"We must be moving," he said, and summoned Philo, who had been much
surprised at Beric's being so long in conversation with strangers.

"Send Porus to me," he said, "and bid Cornelius also come here."

The two men came round to the verandah together. "We are betrayed, Porus,"
he said, "and the Romans will be here this evening."

Porus grasped the handle of his dagger and looked menacingly at the
farmer. "Our good friend has nought to do with it, Porus; it is some one from
one of the other farms who has taken down the news to Rhegium. Do you order
the others to be in readiness to start for the camp. But first strip down the
hangings of our room, roll them and the mats and all else in seven bundles,
with all my wife's clothing and belongings."

"We need leave little behind. We can take everything," Porus said. "The
six of us can carry well nigh as much as the same number of horses, and Philo
can take something. I will see about it immediately."

"Now, Cornelius," Beric went on when Porus had left, "you must prepare
your story, and see that your men and the rest of the household stick to it.
You will be sharply questioned. You have only the truth to say, namely, that
some of my band came down here and threatened to burn your house and slay all
in it unless you agreed to sell us what things we required; that, seeing no
other way of preserving your lives, you agreed to do so. After a time a young
woman—do not say lady—came with two attendants, and you were
forced to provide her with a room; and as five men were placed here
constantly, you still dared give no information to the authorities, because a
watch was also set on you, and your family would have been slain long before
any troops could arrive here. What you will be most closely questioned about
is as to why we all left you today. They will ask you if any one has been
here. You saw no one, did you?"

"No, my lord. I heard voices in your room, but it was no business of mine
who was with you."

"That is good," Beric said. "That is what you must say. You know someone
did come because you heard voices; but you saw nobody either coming or going,
and know not how many of them there were, nor what was their age. You only
know that I summoned you suddenly, and told you I had been betrayed, and that
the Romans would soon be coming in search of me, and therefore I was obliged
to take to the mountains. But go first and inquire among the household, and
see if any of them noticed persons coming here."

"One of the men says that he saw an old peasant with a girl who asked
which was my farm."

"Then that man must go with us to the mountains. He shall return safe and
unharmed in a few days. The Romans must not know of this. This is the one
point on which you must be silent; on all others speak freely. It is
important to me that it should not be known whether it was man or woman, old
or young, who warned me.

"I do not threaten you. I know that you are true and honest; but, to
ensure silence among your household, tell them that I shall certainly find
out if the Roman soldiers learn here that it was an old man and a girl who
visited me, and that I will take dire vengeance on whomsoever tells this to
the Romans. Discharge your man before we leave with him, so that you may say
truly that those the Romans find here are your whole household, and maintain
that not one of them saw who it was who came to me today."

"I can promise that, my lord. You and the Lady Aemilia have been kind and
good to us, and my wife, the female slave, and the hired men would do
anything for you. As for the children, they were not present when Balbus said
that he had been questioned by the old man, and can tell nought, however
closely they may be questioned, save that Balbus was here and has gone."

"I had not thought of that," Beric said. "Better, then, tell the soldiers
the truth: you had two serving men, but we have carried one away with
us."

In half an hour all was ready for a start. The two female slaves, although
attached to their mistress, were terrified at the thoughts of going away
among the mountains, although Aemilia assured them that no harm could happen
to them there. Then, with a hearty adieu to the farmer and his wife, Beric
and his companions shouldered the loads, and with Balbus, Philo, Aemilia, and
the two female slaves made their way up the mountain. As soon as they
started, Beric gave orders to Philo to go on with all speed to the camp, and
to tell Boduoc of the coming of Aemilia, and bid him order the men at once to
prepare a bower at some short distance from their camp. Accordingly when the
party arrived great fires were blazing, and the outlaws received Aemilia with
shouts of welcome.

"I thank you all," Beric said, "for my wife and myself. She knows that in
no place could she be so safe as here, guarded by the brave men who have so
faithfully followed her husband."

So heartily had the men laboured that in the hour and a half that had
elapsed since Philo had arrived a large hut had been erected a hundred yards
from the camp, with a small bower beside it for the use of the female slaves.
A great bonfire burnt in front, and the interior was lighted by torches of
resinous wood.

"Thanks, my friends," Beric said. "You have indeed built us a leafy
palace. I need not exhort the guards to be watchful tonight, for it may be
that the traitor who will guide the Romans to the house where we have been
stopping may know something of the mountains, and guessing the direction of
our camp may attempt to lead them to it. Therefore, Boduoc, let the outposts
be thrown out farther than usual, and let some be placed fully three miles
from here, in all the ravines by which it is likely the enemy might make
their way hither."

Three days later Philo went down to learn what had passed. He was ordered
not to approach the house, as some soldiers might have been left there to
seize upon any one who came down, but to remain at a distance until he saw
the farmer or one of his household at work in the fields. He brought back
news that the Romans had arrived on the night they had left, had searched the
house and country round, had closely questioned all there, even to the
children, and had carried off the farmer and his man. These had returned the
next evening. They had been questioned by the general, who had admonished the
farmer severely on his failure to report the presence of the outlaws at
whatever risk to his family and property; but on their taking an oath that
they were unable to give any information whatever, either as to the outlaws'
retreat or the persons who had brought up the news of the intended attack by
the Romans, they were released.

Balbus was then sent back to the farm with presents for all there, and it
was agreed that the camp should be broken up. The general would, in
compliance with the orders of Nero, make fresh efforts to hunt down the band;
and as he knew now the neighbourhood in which they were, and treachery might
again betray the spot, it was better to choose some other locality; there
was, too, no longer any occasion for them to keep together. They had the
mountains to themselves now, and although the wild animals had been
considerably diminished, there were still goats in the upper ranges, and
swine and wild boar in the thickest parts of the forests. It was also
advisable to know what was passing elsewhere, and to have warning of the
approach of any body of troops from the camps round it. Accordingly, while
the Britons remained with Beric, who took up his quarters in the forest at
the foot of one of the loftiest crags, whence a view could be obtained of the
hills from Rhegium to Cosenza, the rest were broken up into parties of five.
Signals were arranged by which by smoke during day or fire at night warning
could be given of the approach of an enemy, and also whether it was a mere
scouting party or a strong column.

For another three months they lived among the hills. Their life was
rougher than it had been, for they had now to subsist entirely upon the
spoils of the chase, and bread made of ground acorns and beechnuts, mixed
with a very small portion of flour. The latter was obtained from lonely
cottages, for Beric insisted that no villages should be entered.

"There may be soldiers in every hamlet on the hills, and I would have no
risk run of death or capture. Did a few of us fall into their hands it would
encourage them to continue their blockade, but as time goes on, and it is
found that their presence is entirely fruitless, they may be recalled."

For the first few weeks, indeed, after the failure of the attempt to
entrap Beric, parties were sent up into the hills from all the camps, for as
the remaining band of gladiators was known to number under a hundred men, it
would be no longer necessary for the assailants to move as an army; but after
marching hither and thither through the forests without finding any signs of
the fugitives the troops returned to their camps, and a fortnight later the
greater portion of them were either transported to Sicily or sent north, a
few hundred men only remaining to watch for the reappearance of the band.
From time to time Philo went down to Rhegium to gather news of what was
passing. As the farmer had not been troubled since the visit of the troopers,
they renewed their relations with him, except that they abstained from
purchasing food of him lest he should be again questioned. Nevertheless he
occasionally sent up by Philo a skin of wine as a present to Beric.

"So that I can swear that I have sold them nothing, and that they have
taken nothing, there is little chance of my ever being asked if I made them a
present," he said.

He was surprised one day by a visit from a Roman, who informed him that he
was secretary to the general, and whom, indeed, he had seen when brought
before him.

"Do you still hear aught of the brigands, Cornelius?" he asked. The farmer
was taken aback by this question.

"No harm is intended you," Nepo said. "The general may have reason for
desiring to communicate with the band, whose leader at one time stayed in
your house, and which is now the last remnant of the gladiators among the
hills. The search for them has been given up as vain, and probably he will
receive orders from Rome to withdraw the troops altogether and to offer terms
to the gladiators. At present he cannot communicate with them, and he would
be glad for you to renew your connection with them, not to assist them by
selling them food or receiving them here, but that you should arrange some
means of communication with them."

"I might manage that," the farmer said. "It is true that once or twice
some of them have come down here. They have taken nothing, and have come, I
think, more to learn what is passing without than for any other purpose; but
it may be some time before they come again."

"At any rate," Nepo said, "when they do come, do you arrange for a signal,
such, for instance, as lighting two fires on the crest above there, with
plenty of green wood, that would make a smoke which would be seen for many
miles away. This smoke will tell them that there is a message for them from
the general. I give you my word as a Roman that no treachery is intended, and
I myself, accompanied perhaps by one officer, but no more, will bring it up
here and be in waiting to see their chief; so you see I should place myself
much more in his hands than he in mine."

It was but a few days before Beric received this message. It filled him
with hope, for remembering what Berenice had said about the proclamation of
Galba as emperor, it seemed to him that this life as a fugitive might be
approaching its end. For himself he was perfectly happy. He and his Britons
lived much as they had done at home. It required hard work to keep the larder
supplied, but this only gave a greater zest to the chase. They sighed
sometimes for the cool skies of Britain, but in other respects they were
perfectly contented.

Since the soldiers had been withdrawn they had had no difficulty in
obtaining the two things they most required, flour and wine, and, indeed,
sometimes brought up sacks of grain and jars of honey, from which they
manufactured a sweet beer such as they had drunk at home, and was to them far
better than wine. Beric, perhaps, was more anxious for a change than any of
his followers. Aemilia seemed perfectly happy, her spirits were as high now
as when he had first known her as a girl at Massilia. She was the life and
soul of the little band, and the Britons adored her; but Beric remembered
that she had been brought up in comfort and luxury, and longed to give her
similar surroundings. Although for luxuries he himself cared nothing, he did
sometimes feel an ardent desire again to associate with men such as he had
met at the house of Norbanus, to enjoy long talks on literary and other
subjects, and to discuss history and philosophy.

"It is good," he said one day to Aemilia, "for a man who lives among his
fellows to have learned to enjoy study and to find in enlightened
conversation his chief pleasure, but if his lot is thrown far from towns it
were far better that he had known nothing of these pleasures."

One morning Boduoc, who had gone up early to the summit of the crag,
brought down the news that he could make out two columns of smoke rising from
the hill over Rhegium.

"I hope to bring you back good news tomorrow, Aemilia," Beric said as he
at once prepared to start. "I may find Nepo at the farm when I get there and
may possibly be back tonight, but it is full six hours' journey, and as there
is no moon I can hardly travel after sundown."

"I shall not expect you till tomorrow, Beric. It were best to arrange
that, and then I shall not be looking for you. Even if Nepo is there when you
arrive, you will want a long talk with him, and it is likely that Pollio will
be with him, so do not think of starting back till the morning."

It was just noon when Beric reached the farm.

"You are just to the time," Cornelius said. "I received an order at
daybreak this morning to light the fires and to tell you if you came that the
general's secretary would be here at noon. See, there are two figures coming
up the hill now."

The moment he saw that they had passed the fork of the paths and were
really coming to the house Beric rushed down to meet them, and as he
approached saw that they were indeed Pollio and Nepo. He and Pollio embraced
each other affectionately.

"I am well pleased indeed," Pollio said, "that we meet here for the first
time, and that I did not encounter you in the forests. By the gods, but you
have grown into a veritable giant. Why, you must overtop the tallest of your
band."

"By an inch or two, Pollio. And you have altered somewhat too."

"The cares of matrimony age a man rapidly," Pollio said laughing, "though
doubtless they sit lightly on your huge shoulders. Why, you could let my
little cousin sit on your hand and hold her out at arm's length. I always
told her that she would need a masterful husband to keep her in order, and
truly she is well suited. And now for my news, Beric. Nero is dead. The news
arrived last night."

Beric uttered an exclamation of surprise. "How died he?" he asked.

"By his own hand. When the news came that other legions had followed the
example of those of Galba, all fell away from Nero, and the Praetorians
themselves, whom he had petted and spoilt, having no inclination for a fight
with Galba's legionaries, proclaimed the latter emperor. Then Nero showed
himself a craven, flying in disguise to the house of Phaon. There he remained
in hiding, weeping and terrified, knowing that he must die, but afraid to
kill himself. He may well have thought then of how many he had compelled to
die, and how calmly and fearlessly they had opened their veins. It was not
until he heard the trampling of the horsemen sent to seize him that he nerved
himself, and even then could not strike, but placing the point of a dagger
against his breast, bade a slave drive it home.

"The senate proclaimed Galba emperor two days before the death of Nero;
but as yet all is uncertain. There are other generals whose legions may
dispute this point. Syria and Egypt may choose Vespasian; the Transalpine
legions, who favoured Vindex, may pronounce for some other. The Praetorians
themselves, with the sailors of the fleet, knowing that Galba has the
reputation of being close fisted, may choose someone who may flatter and
feast them as Nero did. As yet there is no saying what will be done, but at
any rate your chief enemy is dead. Muro bids me say that some months may yet
elapse before Galba comes to Rome; but that, as he has at present no imperial
master, and the senate will be far too busy wrangling and persecuting the
adherents of the man whom but a short time since they declared to be a god,
to trouble themselves about a handful of gladiators in Bruttium, he will at
once collect his troops at Rhegium, and you will be entirely unmolested if
you promise that your band will in no way ill treat the people. I know that
they have not hitherto done so, and that they will not do so, but the fact
that he has a formal engagement with you to that effect will justify him in
withdrawing his troops. Indeed, he said that it would be better, perhaps,
that a document should be drawn up and signed, in which you pledge yourself
to peaceful courses, urging that it was but the tyranny of Nero that forced
you to become fugitives, and craving that, as your band has never done any
harm to the people, an amnesty may be granted you. This document will aid him
when he meets Galba. He will not wait until the latter comes to Rome, but
will shortly ask permission from the senate to quit his post for a time, all
being quiet here, and will at once take ship to Massilia and see Galba. The
new emperor is not, he says, a man bent on having his own way, but always
leans on friends for advice, and he feels sure that his representations will
suffice to obtain a free pardon for your band, and permission for them to
leave the mountains and go wheresoever they will, so that in that case there
will be nought to prevent you and your followers returning to Britain."

"This is joyous news indeed, Pollio, and I cannot too warmly thank the
general for his kindness to me. As to Berenice—"

"There, there," Pollio said laughing, "let us hear nothing about Berenice.
She is a self willed woman, and I am not responsible for her doings, and want
to hear nothing more of them than she chooses to tell me."

By this time they had reached the farmhouse, where a meal was speedily
prepared, and they sat talking together until evening, when Pollio and his
companion returned to Rhegium.

Another three months passed. There was now no lack of food among the
outlaws. They still hunted, but it was for amusement, buying sheep and other
animals from the villagers, together with all else they required, the natives
rejoicing in finding good customers instead of dangerous neighbours among the
hills.

At last the signal smokes again ascended, and Beric, taking Aemilia with
him, made his way to the farmhouse, where he learned that Nepo had been there
with a message that he desired to see Beric in Rhegium. This was sufficient
to show that Muro's mission had been to some extent successful, and after
resting for an hour or two at the farmhouse they descended the hill. Beric
had purchased suitable garments to replace the goatskins which had for a long
time previously been worn by the outlaws, their rough work in the woods
having speedily reduced their garments to rags, and save that men looked up
and marvelled his size, he passed almost unnoticed through the streets of
Rhegium to the house of the general. Orders had been given that he was to be
admitted, for the sentries passed him without question. As the slave at the
door conducted them into the atrium Muro advanced with outstretched
hands.

"Welcome! thrice welcome, Beric! Had I not heard from Pollio how you had
changed, I should not have recognized in you the British lad I parted with
six years ago in Britain. And this is your wife? Pollio, spare your cousin to
me for a moment. I am glad to know you, Aemilia. I never met your father,
though I have often heard of him as a noble Roman, and I know that his
daughter is worthy of being the wife of Beric, not only from what I have
heard of you from my son in law, but from your readiness to share the exile
and perils of your husband. I see that Berenice has greeted you as if she
knew you. A month since I should have said that that was impossible," and a
smile passed over his face, "but now I may admit that it may have been. And
now for my news. I have seen Galba, and have strongly represented to him the
whole facts of the case, and I have, under his hand, a free pardon for
yourself and all your followers, who are permitted to go wheresoever they
please, without molestation from any. But more than that, I have represented
to him how useful it would be that the Britons of the east, where the great
rising against Rome took place, should be governed by one of their own
chiefs, who, having a knowledge of the might and power of Rome, would, more
than any other, be able to influence them in remaining peaceful and adopting
somewhat of our civilization. He has, therefore, filled up an appointment
creating you provincial governor of that part of Britain lying north of the
Thames as far as the northern estuary, and bounded on the east by the region
of swamps—the land of the Trinobantes, the Iceni, and a portion of the
Brigantes—with full power over that country, and answerable only to the
propraetor himself. Moreover, he has written to him on the subject, begging
him to give you a free hand, and to support you warmly against the minor
Roman officials of the district. I need not say that I answered for you
fully, and pledged myself that you would in all things be faithful to Rome,
and would use your influence to the utmost to reconcile the people to our
rule."

Beric was for a time too overcome to be able to thank Muro for his
kindness.

"I have repaid in a small way the debt that I and Pollio owe you," he
said. "The senate has not at present ratified the appointment, but that is a
mere form, and it will not be presented to them until Galba arrives. They are
eagerly looking for his coming to free them from the excesses and tyranny of
the Praetorian guard, led by Nymphidius the prefect, who has himself been
scheming to succeed Nero, and they will ratify without question all that
Galba may request. In the meantime there need be no delay. We can charter a
ship to convey you and your British and Gaulish followers to Massilia. Galba
is already supreme there, and thence you can travel as a Roman official of
high rank. I will, of course, furnish you with means to do so."

"In that respect I am still well provided," Beric said. "Nero, with all
his faults, was generous, and was, in addition to my appointments,
continually loading me with presents, which I could not refuse. Even after
paying for all that was necessary for my band during the past year, I am a
wealthy man, and have ample to support Aemilia in luxury to the end of our
lives."

"You will, of course, draw no pay until your arrival in Britain; but after
that your appointment will be ample. However, I shall insist upon chartering
the ship to convey you to Massilia."

The beacon fires were lighted again next morning, and an hour later Beric
met Boduoc, whom he had, on leaving, directed to follow with the Britons, and
to post himself near the crest of the hills. He returned with him to the
band, who were transported with delight at hearing the news. Messengers were
at once sent off to the party under Gatho, and on the following day the whole
band reassembled, the joy of the Gauls being no less than that of the
Britons.

"You will have to take me with you, Beric," Porus said. "I am fit for
nothing here save the arena. I have been away from Scythia since I was a boy,
and should find myself a stranger there."

"I will gladly take you, Porus, and will find you a wife among my
countrywomen. You have shared in my perils, and should share in my good
fortunes. You must all remain here among the hills till I send you up word
that the ship is in readiness. Boduoc will come down with me, and will send
up to the farm garments to replace your sheepskins, for truly Rhegium would
be in an uproar did you descend in your present garb. Boduoc will bring you
instructions as to your coming down. It were best that you came after
nightfall, and in small parties, and went direct on board the ship which he
will point out to you. We do not wish to attract attention or to cause a talk
in the town, as the news would be carried to Rome, and the senate might
question the right of Muro to act upon a document which they have not yet
ratified. Therefore we wish it kept quiet until the arrival of Galba at
Rome."

A week later the whole party stood on the deck of a ship in the port of
Rhegium. Beric had bidden farewell to Muro at his house; Pollio and Berenice
accompanied him and Aemilia on board.

"I do not mean this as a farewell for ever, Beric," Pollio said. "I
foresee that we are going to have troubled times in Rome. Nero was the last
of his race, and no one now has greater right than his fellows to be emperor.
Now that they have once begun these military insurrections, for the
proclamation of Galba was nothing else, I fear we shall have many more. The
throne is open now to any ambitious man who is strong enough to grasp it.
Generals will no longer think of defeating the enemies of their country and
of ruling provinces. As propraetors they will seek to gain the love and vote
of their soldiers; discipline will become relaxed, and the basest instead of
the noblest passions of the troops be appealed to. We may have civil wars
again, like those of Marius and Scylla, and Anthony and Brutus. I hate the
intrigues of Rome, and loathe the arts of the demagogue, and to this our
generals will descend. Therefore I shall soon apply for service in Britain
again. Muro approves, and when I obtain an office there he will come out and
build another villa, and settle and end his days there.

"There is little chance of the troops in Britain dealing in intrigues.
They are too far away to make their voice heard, too few to impose their will
upon Rome. Therefore he agrees with me that there is more chance of peace and
contentment there than anywhere. The Britons have given no trouble since the
Iceni surrendered, and I look to the time when we shall raise our towns there
and live surrounded by a contented people. You may visit Muro at his house in
Camalodunum once again, Beric."

"It will be a happy day for us when you come, Pollio, you and Berenice;
and glad indeed shall I be to have her noble father dwelling among us.
Whatever troubles there may be in other parts of Britain I cannot say, but I
think I can answer that in Eastern Britain there will never again be a
rising."

"They are throwing off the ropes," Pollio said; "we must go ashore. May
the gods keep and bless you both!"

"And may my God, who has almost become Beric's God, also bless you and
Berenice and Muro!" Aemilia said.

Ten minutes later the ship had left port, and was making her way up the
Straits of Messina. The weather was fair with a southerly wind, running
before which the ship coasted along inside the mountainous isle of Sardinia,
passed through the straits between that and Corsica, then shaped its course
for Massilia, where it arrived without adventure. There was some surprise in
the town at the appearance of Beric and his followers, and they were escorted
by the guard at the port to the house of the chief magistrate. On Beric's
presenting to him his appointment, signed by Galba, and the safe conduct for
himself and his comrades, the magistrate invited him and Aemilia to stay at
his house. There were many officials to whom Aemilia was known when she dwelt
there with her father, and for ten days they stayed in the city. The Gauls of
Beric's party proceeded to their various destinations on the day after they
landed, Beric making a present to each to enable them to defray the expenses
of their travel to their respective homes, and obtaining a separate safe
conduct for each from the chief magistrate. Bidding adieu to their friends at
Massilia the Britons started north.

While in the town Beric obtained for his twenty followers a dress which
was a mixture of that of the Britons and Romans, having the trousers or
leggings of the British and the short Roman tunic. All were armed with sword,
shield, and spear. Aemilia travelled in a carriage; the two female slaves had
been given their freedom and left behind at Rhegium. Beric was handsomely
attired in a dress suitable to his rank, but, like his followers, wore the
British leggings. A horse was taken with them for him to ride when they
passed through towns, but generally it was led by Philo, and Beric marched
with his men. They took long journeys, for the men were all eager to be home,
and, inured as they were to fatigue, thought nothing of doing each day double
the distance that was regarded as an ordinary day's journey.

At the towns through which they passed the people gazed with surprise at
Beric and his bodyguard, and warm sympathy was shown by the Gauls for the
Britons returning after their captivity in Rome. On arriving at the
northwesterly port of Gaul, Beric learned that London, Verulamium, and
Camalodunum had been rebuilt, and that the propraetor had established himself
in London as his chief place of residence. Beric therefore hired a ship,
which sailed across the straits to the mouth of the Thames, ascended the
river, and four days after putting out anchored at London. Beric and his
followers were surprised at the change which had been effected in the six
years which had passed since they saw it a heap of ruins. A temple of Diana
had been erected on the highest point of ground. Near this was the palace of
the propraetor, and numerous villas of the Roman officials were scattered on
the slopes. A strong wall surrounded the Roman quarter, beyond which
clustered the houses of the traders, already forming a place of considerable
size.

Upon landing Beric proceeded, accompanied by Boduoc, to the palace of the
propraetor, to whom he presented Galba's letter especially recommending him,
and his own official appointment. Celsius, who had succeeded Petronius as
propraetor, had received Beric sitting; but upon reading the document rose
and greeted him cordially.

"I have heard much of you, Beric, since I came here," he said, "and many
have been the entreaties of your people to me that I would write to Rome to
pray Caesar to restore you to them. I did so write to Nero, but received no
reply; but my friends keep me acquainted with what is passing there, and the
story of your combat with the lion in the arena, and of your heading a revolt
in Nero's palace reached me. As it was about the time of the latter event
that I wrote to Caesar, I wondered not that I received no answer to my
letter. After that I heard that you had been giving terrible trouble in
Bruttium to Caius Muro, and little dreamed that my next news of you would be
that Galba had appointed you Governor of the Eastern Province."

"It was upon the recommendation and by the good offices of Muro," Beric
said. "I had been brought up at his house at Camalodunum, and had the good
fortune to save his daughter's life at the sack of that city. He knew that I
had been driven by the conduct of Nero into revolt, and that, even though in
arms against Rome, I and my band had injured and robbed no Roman man or
woman. He represented to Galba that, holding in high respect the power of
Rome, and being well regarded by my people here, I should, more than any
stranger, be able to persuade them of the madness of any further rising
against the imperial power, and to induce them to apply themselves to the
arts of agriculture, and to become, like the Gauls, a settled people
contented and prosperous.

"These arguments had weight with the emperor, who, as you see, has been
pleased to appoint me governor of the province that my people occupied,
together with that adjoining on the south, formerly belonging to the
Trinobantes, and on the north occupied by a portion of the Brigantes."

"I think the emperor has done well, and I look for great results from your
appointment, Beric. I am convinced that it is the best policy to content a
conquered people by placing over them men of their own race and tongue,
instead of filling every post by strangers who are ignorant of their ways and
customs, and whose presence and dress constantly remind them that they are
governed by their conquerors. Where do you think of establishing
yourself—at Camalodunum?"

"No. Camalodunum is a Roman town; the people would not so freely come to
me there to arbitrate in their disputes. I shall fix it at Norwich, which
lies midway between Camalodunum and the northern boundary of the province,
and through which, as I hear, one of your roads has now been made."

After staying three days in London as the guest of Celsius, Beric started
for the seat of his government, attended by his own bodyguard and a centurion
with a company of Roman soldiers. The news that a British governor had been
appointed to the province spread rapidly, and at Verulamium, where he stopped
for two days, crowds of the country people assembled and greeted him with
shouts of welcome. Beric assured them that he had been sent by the emperor
Galba, who desired to see peace and contentment reign in Britain, and had
therefore appointed a countryman of their own as governor of their province,
and that, though he should make Norwich the place of his government, he
should journey about throughout the country, listen to all complaints and
grievances, and administer justice against offenders, whatever their rank and
station.

Above all he exhorted them to tranquillity and obedience. "Rome wishes you
well," he said, "and would fain see you as contented beneath her sway as is
Gaul, and as are the other countries she has conquered and occupied. We form
part of the Roman Empire now, that is as fixed and irrevocable as the rising
and setting of the sun. To struggle against Rome is as great a folly as for
an infant to wrestle with a giant. But once forming a part of the empire we
shall share in its greatness. Towns will rise over the land and wealth
increase, and all will benefit by the civilization that Rome will bring to
us."

He addressed similar speeches to the people at each halting place, and was
everywhere applauded, for the Trinobantes had felt most heavily the power of
Rome, and all thought of resistance had faded out since the terrible
slaughter that followed the defeat of Boadicea.

Beric did not turn aside to enter Camalodunum, but kept his course north.
The news of his coming had preceded him, and the Iceni flocked to meet him,
and gave him an enthusiastic welcome. They were proud of him as a national
hero; he alone of their chiefs had maintained resistance against the Romans,
and his successes had obliterated the humiliation of their great defeat.
Great numbers of those who came to meet him owed their lives to the refuge he
had provided for them in the swamps, and they considered that it was to his
influence they owed it, that after his capture they were allowed to return to
their native villages, and to take up their life there unmolested by the
Romans.

The members of his band, too, found relations and friends among the crowd,
and it added to their enthusiasm that Beric had brought back with him every
one of his companions in captivity. Aemilia was much affected at the evidence
of her husband's popularity, and at the shouting crowd of great fair haired
men and women who surged round the escort, and who, when Beric took her by
the hand and bidding her stand up in the chariot presented her to the Iceni
as his wife, shouted for her almost as enthusiastically as they had done for
him.

"What a little insignificant thing these tall British matrons and maids
must think me, Beric!" she said.

"We all admire our opposites, Aemilia, that is how it was that you came to
fall in love with me; these people can have seen but few Roman ladies, and
doubtless there is not one among them who does not think as I do, that with
your dark hair and eyes, and the rich colour of your cheek, you are the
loveliest woman that they ever saw."

"If they knew what you were saying they would lose all respect for you,
Beric," she said laughing and colouring. "We have been married nearly a year,
sir—a great deal too long for you to pay me compliments."

"You must remember that you are in Britain now, Aemilia, and though in
Rome men regard themselves as the lords and masters of their wives it is not
so here, where women are looked upon as in every way equal to men. I expect
that you will quite change under the influence of British air, and that
though I am nominally governor it is you who will rule. You will see that in
a short time the people will come to you with their petitions as readily as
to me."

As soon as Beric established himself at Norwich he set about the erection
of a suitable abode; the funds were provided as was usual from the treasury
of the province—a certain sum from the taxes raised being set aside to
pay the share of the national tribute to Rome, while the rest was devoted to
the payment of officials, the construction of roads, public works, and
buildings. Long before the house was finished a child was born to Beric, the
event being celebrated with great festivity by the Iceni, contrary to their
own customs, for among themselves a birth was regarded rather as an occasion
of mourning than of rejoicing.

Beric set vigorously to work to put the affairs of the province in order;
he appointed Boduoc to an important office under him, and to act for him
during his absences, which were at first frequent, as he constantly travelled
about the country holding courts, redressing grievances, punishing and
degrading officials who had abused their position or ill treated the people,
and appointing in many cases natives in their places. Bitter complaints were
made by the dispossessed Roman officials to Celsius, who, however, declined
in any way to interfere, saying that Beric had received the fullest powers
from Galba, and that, moreover, did he interfere with him it was clear that
there would be another revolt of the Iceni.

Galba fell, and was succeeded by Otho, who was very shortly afterwards
followed by Vespasian, a just, though severe emperor. Complaints were laid
before him by powerful families, whose relations had been dismissed by Beric,
and the latter was ordered to furnish a full explanation of his conduct.
Beric replied by a long and full report of his government. Vespasian was
greatly struck alike by the firmness with which Beric defended himself, and
by the intelligence and activity with which, as the report showed, he had
conducted the affairs of his province; he therefore issued an order for the
disaffected officials to return at once to Rome, confirmed Beric in the
powers granted him by Galba, and gave him full authority to dismiss even the
highest Roman officials in the district should he see occasion to do so.

Roman towns and stations had sprung up all over the island, roads and
bridges opened the way for trade. Now that the tribal wars had ceased, and
the whole people had become welded into one, they turned their attention more
and more to agriculture. The forest diminished rapidly in extent; the Roman
plough took the place of the rough hoe of the Briton, houses of brick and
stone that of rough huts; intermarriages became frequent. The Roman
legionaries became established as military colonists and took British wives.
The foreign traders and artisans, who formed the bulk of the populations of
the towns, did the same; and although this in the end had the effect of
diminishing the physical proportions of the British, and lowering the lofty
stature and size that had struck the Romans on their landing with
astonishment, it introduced many characteristics hitherto wanting in the
race, and aided in their conversion from tribes of fierce warriors into a
settled and semi-civilized people.

Among the many who came to Britain, were some Christians who sought homes
in the distant island to escape the persecutions at Rome. There was soon a
colony of these settled at Norwich under the protection of Aemilia. They
brought with them an eloquent priest, and in a short time Beric, already
strongly inclined to the Christian religion, openly accepted that faith,
which spread rapidly throughout his government. Porus was not long in finding
a British wife, and never regretted the day when he left the ludus of Scopus
and joined his fortunes to those of Beric. Philo embraced Christianity, and
became a priest of that church.

A year after Beric came to Britain he and Aemilia were delighted by the
arrival of Pollio and Berenice with Caius Muro. The former had at the
accession of Otho, with whom his family were connected, obtained a civil
appointment in Britain, and at Beric's request Celsius appointed him to the
control of the collection of taxes in his district, there being constant
complaints among the people of the rapacity and unfairness of the Roman
official occupying this position. Pollio therefore established himself also
at Norwich; Muro, with whom came Cneius Nepo, taking up his residence there
with him, and as many other Roman families were there, neither Aemilia nor
Berenice ever regretted the loss of the society of Rome. Pollio proved an
excellent official, and ably seconded Beric in his efforts to render the
people contented.

Had Beric foreseen the time when the Romans would abandon Britain, and
leave it to the mercy of the savages of the north and of the pirates of North
Germany and Scandinavia, he would have seen that the extinction of the
martial qualities of the British would lead to their ruin; but that Rome
would decay and fall to pieces and become the prey of barbarians, was a
contingency beyond human ken, and he and those who worked with him thought
that the greatest blessing they could bestow upon their country was to render
it a contented and prosperous province of the Roman Empire. This he succeeded
in doing in his own government, and when, full of years and rich in the
affection of his countrymen, he died, his son succeeded him in the
government, and for many generations the eastern division of the island was
governed by descendants of Beric the Briton.